Toronto-based TMX Group Ltd. announced on Wednesday that it’s funding an independent working group, the Advancing Innovation Roundtable (AIR), to come up with recommendations for improving the funding environment for technology startups.
The group, which will feature representatives from the Canadian investment community (including pension plans, banks, endowments, venture capital firms and private equity funds), aims to develop a set of “actionable recommendations” on how to successfully scale globally competitive companies in various growth sectors, such as technology, cleantech, life sciences and advanced manufacturing.
Salil Munjal, general partner with Vancouver-based private equity firm, Yaletown Partners Inc., will be the AIR’s chairman. He previously worked as a corporate finance lawyer at Torys LLP and was president and chief operating officer of Leitch Technology Corp.
“Where Canada lags behind our global peers is in the development of market-leading technology companies with significant scale,” says Munjal in a statement. “The roundtable will explore new strategies to increase the supply of growth capital to develop large, next generation companies in Canada.”
The AIR will launch in September and aims to deliver its recommendations in early 2017. In developing those recommendations, it plans to consult with investors, financial leaders and others.
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