Paul Martin commentary
This province is making headway in creating an ecosystem for emerging entrepreneurs.
Saskatchewan is not exactly a heavy hitter in this particular space. Last year, for example, we accounted for 12 of the 571 deals venture capitalists closed in the country which represented $34 million out of $8 billion these players invested. On the private equity side, the numbers were even smaller.
But there are signs of this changing. The Saskatoon-based investment attraction agency Ag-West Biotech has lured a South American firm to set up shop in the province while Conexus Credit Union last month reported that they have attracted a dozen companies from Canada and the UK as a fifth cohort of start-ups working through their AgTech Accelerator program.
Early stage firms have trouble accessing capital but a novel provincial program called STSI or Saskatchewan Technology Startup Incentive helps qualifying firms tap into the local high net worth community with an attractive tax credit for the investors. Its popularity has prompted the government to double its funding cap and expand eligibility to include startups in the life sciences arena.
