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Spring Acquires Future Capital to Create an Inclusive Investment Ecosystem Across Canada

Business Wire
·3 min read

The Combined Programming and Expertise will Deliver Even Greater Support for Diverse Investors and Underrepresented Founders

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, September 13, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Spring Activator (Spring), a leader in Canada’s early stage impact investing ecosystem, announces the acquisition of Future Capital, the learning and investing platform built for underrepresented early-stage investors. Spring is a global community and accelerator for both founders and investors and works with notable partners across Canada, including TELUS Pollinator Fund, the Digital Technology Supercluster, NRC IRAP, BDC, and globally, such as USAID, GIZ, Swisscontact and EFSE.

Founded in 2014, Spring Activator works at the intersection of impact entrepreneurship and investing, connecting and catalysing founders and investors through programs, events and community building. Combined, Spring and Future Capital’s programming, communities, and expertise will provide a more inclusive suite of offerings to scale an equitable model for early stage impact investing. Marlon Thompson, Founder & CEO of Future Capital, will join Spring as Chief Experience Officer (CXO) and will report to Co-CEOs Keith Ippel and Caroline von Hirschberg.

"This acquisition marks an incredible step forward for bringing wealth creation opportunities to underrepresented communities. We are now able to connect more diverse, impact-driven founders and funders and we see an increasing need in the market to do so," commented Keith Ippel, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Spring Activator. "We know we can move faster together to transform the ways the whole ecosystem thinks about investing, starting companies, and innovation as a whole."

The acquisition comes at a time when minority populations will be the majority in North America by 20441, and over $68 trillion dollars of intergenerational wealth is expected to be in the hands of diverse groups and women in the next 30 years2. These trends demonstrate a clear need for more training and capacity building for investors and new investment into solutions that empower underrepresented groups.

"Future Capital has an impressive reputation for delivering high impact investor training, and Marlon has built a phenomenal business that has truly made a difference," commented Caroline von Hirschberg, Co-CEO, Spring Activator. "Far too many industries are dominated by competitive and insular mindsets. We're excited to demonstrate the power of collaboration and an abundance mindset through this partnership."

Just last year, investment dollars to Black founders dropped more than 50%3 and woman-founded startups raised just 1.9%4 of all VC funds.

"The future of capital looks different than it did yesterday," commented Marlon Thompson, CXO, Spring Activator. "The Spring team’s appreciation of the important role that accessibility plays in the innovation ecosystem makes for a natural alignment between organisations. The mission to enable purpose-driven founders and investors to create an equitable, and resilient world is not a small commitment, but I believe this partnership is positioned to do just that."

For more information on Spring Activator, please visit: spring.is

1 US Census Bureau, "Projections of the Size and Composition of the U.S. Population: 2014 to 2060", 2015

2 Cerulli Associates, CNBC, 2019

3 Crunchbase, "Special Series: VC Dollars To Black Startup Founders Fell More Than 50% In 2022", 2023

4 PitchBook/NVCA, "Venture Monitor Q3", 2022

About Spring Activator

Spring Activator was founded in 2014 with a simple but bold mission to accelerate and amplify the activities of purpose-driven leaders and investors to create an equitable and resilient world. In 2022 Spring launched Spring Investing Collective, Canada’s Impact Investing Network, and in 2023 launched Spring Impact Capital, an early stage impact fund, investing in Canadian startup founders to scale innovation in planetary and human health. Nationally and globally, Spring unites founders and investors with the tools, knowledge and community to scale impact together for a better future. For more information, please visit: https://spring.is/

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230913876900/en/

Contacts

Dan Gamble
+1778 873 0422
dan@dg-pr.com