A new program is trying to spur investment in local Yukon businesses by offering a crash course for both investors and entrepreneurs.
The 10-week Yukon Investment Challenge is a collaboration between Spring Activator, Yukon University, Yukonstruct, and Yukon Venture Angels.
The program aims to teach local venture capitalists how to invest locally, while also teaching local entrepreneurs how to pitch, and apply for funding.
The initiative is funded in partnership with the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency and will run from March to May 2022.
“One of the things that we’ve really seen over the past few years is there’s just the lack of access to capital for some of these businesses and some of these ideas, especially when they get to the stage where they really want to grow, you know, maybe they’re exporting out of the Yukon,” said Lana Selbee, the executive director of Yukonstruct.
Selbee highlighted how there are many existing networks of angel investors or venture capitalists in regions such as Vancouver, Toronto, and Calgary, but none in the territory, until now. An angel investor — also known as a private investor, seed investor or angel funder — is anyone who provides capital for a business or a startup, often in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity.
“I think it’s important that this is accessible here in the Yukon as much as anywhere else,” Selbee said.
Lauren Manekin Beille, the department head of Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Yukon University, said she’s been working closely with Yukonstruct for the past three years trying to fill the gaps in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
She said one of the biggest gaps till this day is local investment.
“Yukon is one of the greatest places for people that dream about starting and growing their businesses. Now, there’s more and more activity around investment, and this opportunity is for people to be in a safe place surrounded by mentors who have been doing this for a long time,” said Beille.
The Yukon Investment Challenge is broken down into 10 two-hour weekly sessions on Monday where entrepreneurs and investors will get together to learn about the nuances of investment.
Entrepreneurs and business owners will learn how to access investment to grow their company, how to pitch when asking for funding, and will be guided toward being investment-ready for a chance to win up to $50,000 of investment funding from the investor cohort.
Investors, on the other hand, will learn what to look for in investment pitches and how to evaluate prospective investments.
“Whether they win the $50,000, or maybe it’s a deal that comes a little later down the line, it’s still a great opportunity for entrepreneurs,” Selbee said.
“Something that’s really powerful to grow a thriving business and a really healthy economy is when local investors are actually investing in local companies.”
