Canada’s Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA) said Thursday that it is entering into a partnership with the federal government in launching the new Start Up Visa pilot program.
“We look forward to playing our part in making this pilot program a success as we believe that it has great potential to strengthen entrepreneurial activity in Canada,” said Peter van der Velden, president of the CVCA and senior managing partner at Lumira Capital. said in a release.
The association will be canvassing its venture capital fund members about participation in this new pilot program and will subsequently provide a list of those member venture capital funds to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. CVCA will also provide regular reports to the department of Citizenship and Immigration on program utilization by its members.
CVCA notes that the global competition to attract the best and the brightest entrepreneurial talent is heating up and several countries from the United States to Great Britain and Chile have introduced comparable programs designed to lure entrepreneurial talent to their shores.
“Start UP Visa is clearly a case of win-win-win: win for Canada that gets to attract entrepreneurial talent that otherwise might not come here — win for our venture capital fund members who now have greater exposure a wealth of talent from abroad — and, win for the entrepreneurs who can now access a broader pool of capital,” added van der Velden.