Export Development Canada has become a major provider of equity capital to Canadian private equity and venture capital funds, as well as a direct investor in Canadian businesses. Its mission is to spur the development of cross-border growth for Canadian business.
Less well known is EDC’s program of backing private equity firms in the emerging markets. Privcap spoke at the recent CVCA Annual Conference in Vancouver with the EDC’s Jennifer Dean Brooy to learn about what her organization is looking for in an emerging markets GP, as well as to hear details about the EDC’s activities in Canada.
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Guide to this video
00:22 Brooy explains the EDC’s mission to help Canadians go abroad by investing in funds and also direct investments in Canada, aka “buying in to networks knowledge and know-how”
1:51 The EDC’s requirements for emerging markets funds. Brooy gives the example of a group backed by her organization: India’s IDFC, which is now jointly bidding on an Africa infrastructure project with a Montreal-based business
2:30 What reaction do emerging markets business owners have to her proposals?
2:57 How the EDC approaches Canadian fund investments versus direct investments
3:29 Has EDC ever backed a first-time fund?
3:46 What are some public misperceptions about EDC?
4:18 Helping Canadian companies think globally from inception
5:10 How has EDC developed resources to be a successful direct investor?
The interview is one of several that will be released jointly by Privcap and the CVCA in the coming weeks. The annual conference of Canada’s Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA) is the most important gathering of participants in Canada’s thriving VC and private equity market, and this year drew a capacity crowd, as well as an unprecedented number of delegates from outside of Canada.
Last week, Privcap released its interview with Chris Arsenault of iNovia Capital and Amar Varma of Extreme Venture Partners about trends in the Canadian venture capital market.
About Jennifer Dean Brooy
Jennifer Dean Brooy serves as Vice President and Head of Equity at Export Development Canada (EDC), where she structures private investments via international venture and growth capital for both direct and indirect investing. Jennifer has also served on the Energy Industry Team at EDC, which focused on directing corporate loans and international project financing.
With over 20 years of financing experience, Jennifer has served as a member (or observer) of Strategic Advisory Board at Jefferson Partners. She currently is a Jefferson Limited Partner as well as a Director of Liquid Computing Corp.
Prior to joining EDC in 1997, Jennifer worked at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and the Bank of America.
Jennifer earned her BA from the University of Toronta and her MBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University.
About Privcap videos
Privcap provides high-quality programming to participants in the global private capital markets. In addition to its current commentary and podcast offerings, Privcap is developing video series covering important investment themes and practices in private capital. Contact Privcap at admin@privcap.com
