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Connect Manitoba Growth Fund designed to further the development, growth and success of Manitoba jobs, communities and the economy.
Connect Manitoba Growth Fund designed to further the development, growth and success of Manitoba jobs, communities and the economy.
Small and medium-sized enterprises employ the vast majority of the Canadian and Manitoban workforce and are the fastest-growing business sector in the province. However, the Manitoba Business Council and Manitoba Government have identified that the local capital ecosystem lags behind the rest of Canada in providing capital to support local small and medium-sized businesses.
In response, earlier this year a consortium of investors that included four Manitoba credit unions, the Manitoba First Fund (a provincial government fund created in 2022 to help Manitoba businesses access capital at all stages) and Westcap Mgt Ltd created the Provincial Venture Capital Fund.
Managed by Westcap, the fund will invest in businesses that are furthering economic growth in Manitoba through: job creation; innovation, research or development; export of goods or services; delivery of significant or essential services; construction of capital assets or the purchase of equipment; assisting a Manitoba community; or sustainable development, renewable energy, waste reduction or similar green initiatives.
Assiniboine Credit Union (ACU) signed on to the fund in July, along with Westoba Credit Union and Caisse Financial Group.
The Connect Manitoba Growth Fund appealed to ACU for a number of reasons, says Assiniboine Credit Union CEO Kevin Sitka.
“As a Manitoba-owned credit union, the fund’s focus on supporting, expanding and encouraging the growth of Manitoba business, jobs and communities resonates strongly with us,” Sitka says. “And the fund’s desire to look for opportunities to invest in sustainable development, renewable energy, waste reduction and green initiatives resonated particularly strongly with ACU’s values.”
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About Westcap
Westcap is a registered portfolio manager of a diverse and distinct group of Funds across a broad range of industry sectors with approximately $1 Billion in assets under management. Over the past 25 years, Westcap has invested in more than 200 growth companies.
About ACU
ACU is a financial co-operative with over $6 billion in assets. We offer a full suite of personal and commercial banking products and services, and a team of financial and wealth advisors to help our members succeed. We have seventeen branch locations in Winnipeg, two northern branches in Thompson and Gillam, and we’re owned collectively by 140,000 Manitobans who use our services today.
Media Contact: Dean Beleyowski | dbeleyowski@acu.ca | 204-258-3506