The British Columbia Renaissance Capital Fund (BCRCF) has been launched following the selection of six institutional venture capital fund managers that have more than $2.3 billion of capital available for investment. The BC government has committed $90 million to the Fund which is meant to complement existing government-back VC funds and tax credits by focusing on larger investments (R$, April 24/07).

The six fund managers — two Canadian and four US — were chosen following a selection process that began last year. Each has a particular specialization that links to BC high-tech priorities (see chart). They were chosen for their financial performance and plans for seizing investment opportunities in the province.

The BCRCF is targeted towards but not limited to life sciences, information technology, new media and clean technologies.

"We're happy with the range of the group ... Now we can get to the business of exposing fund managers to opportunities," says Todd Tessier, director of the Investment Capital and Investor Services branch in the Ministry of Economic Development. "Our tech associations did a good job of spreading the word. We're looking to see between five and eight big investments from this particular fund and I'd like to see two or three in 2008."

Since 2001, BC's share of Canadian VC has increased from 7% to more than 15% in FY06-07. Tax credits helped to create investment traction with foreign sources accounting for 31% of supply.

"That tells me that there are good opportunities in BC and we need to turn those opportunities into anchor companies. That's what the BCRCF aims to do," says Tessier. "Each manager has its own style. Some do early stage but they typically do later stage. "

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