Just this week, there have been two announcements of Saskatchewan-based investment funds completing their fund-raising process.
The first was WestCap’s third MBO or Management Buyout Fund with $285 million which was followed by the announcement that Emmertech had raised $60 million.
Emmertech is managed by Conexus Credit Union and is aimed at emerging technology companies in the agriculture space. It also attracted venture capital from Innovation Saskatchewan and both Mosaic and Viterra — two big names in the agricultural arena with significant Saskatchewan operations.
Not that many years ago, business people in Saskatchewan — whether they were looking to buy established businesses or to launch a start-up — had very few sources of capital to get things started.
Often — as one banker put it back then — you’d be surprised how many Saskatchewan businesses were financed by a mortgage on the home quarter. That remains a possibility today, but it is no longer the only option.
