List of designated organizations – start up visa
To apply for the Start-up Visa Program, your business idea or venture must get the support of one or more of the designated organizations listed below:
Designated organizations are business groups that are approved to invest in or support possible start-ups through the Start-up Visa Program.
Organizations choose which business proposals to review. Each organization has its own intake process for proposals and criteria used to assess them. For example, you may be asked to present your business concept in person or submit a detailed business plan.
If an organization decides to review your business idea, it’ll assess the potential of your proposal and whether or not it’ll succeed.
If an organization chooses to support your business idea, it’ll give you a Letter of Support.
Designated organizations
Venture capital funds
You must get at least one of these groups to agree to invest a minimum of $200,000:
- 7 Gate Ventures
- Alt Ventures
- Apex Innovative Investments Ventures
- Arete Pacific Tech Ventures (VCC) Corp
- BCF Ventures
- BDC Venture Capital
- Celtic House Venture Partners
- Extreme Venture Partners LLP
- First Fund
- Golden Venture Partners Fund, LP
- INP Capital
- iNovia Capital Inc.
- Intrinsic Venture Capital
- Lumira Ventures
- Invest Nova Scotia
- PRIVEQ Capital Funds
- Real Ventures
- Red Leaf Capital Corp
- Relay Ventures
- ScaleUp Venture Partners, Inc.
- Tangentia Ventures
- Top Renergy Inc.
- Vanedge Capital Limited Partnership
- Version One Ventures
- WhiteHaven Venture
- Westcap Management Ltd.
- Yaletown Venture Partners Inc.
- York Entrepreneurship Development Institute (YEDI) VC Fund
Angel investor groups
You must get one or more investors connected to these groups to agree to invest a minimum of $75,000:
- Canadian International Angel Investors
- Ekagrata Inc.
- Golden Triangle Angel Network
- Keiretsu Forum Canada
- Oak Mason Investments Inc.
- TenX Angel Investors Inc.
- VANTEC Angel Network Inc.
- York Angel Investors Inc.
Business incubators
You must be accepted into one of these programs:
- Alacrity Foundation
- Alberta Agriculture and Forestry
- Alberta IoT Association
- Altitude Accelerator
- Bhive
- Biomedical Commercialization Canada Inc. (operating as Manitoba Technology Accelerator)
- Brilliant Catalyst
- Creative Destruction Lab
- DMZ Ventures
- Empowered Startups Ltd.
- Extreme Innovations
- Foresight Cleantech Accelerator Centre
- Genesis Centre
- Highline BETA Inc.
- Invest Nova Scotia
- Innovate Calgary
- Innovation Cluster - Peterborough and the Kawarthas
- Innovation Factory
- Interactive Niagara Media Cluster o/a Innovate Niagara
- Intrinsic Innovations
- Invest Ottawa
- ISM Arts & Culture Ltd
- Knowledge Park o/a Planet Hatch
- LatAm Startups
- Launch Academy - Vancouver
- LaunchPad PEI Inc.
- Millworks Centre for Entrepreneurship
- NEXT Canada
- Niagara Business & Innovation Fund
- North Forge East Ltd.
- North Forge Technology Exchange
- Pacific Technology Ventures
- Platform Calgary
- Pycap
- Real Investment Fund III L.P. o/a FounderFuel
- Red Leaf Capital Corp
- Roseview Global Incubator
- Spark Commercialization and Innovation Centre
- Spring Activator
- The DMZ at Ryerson University
- Think8 Global Institute
- TiE Toronto
- Toronto Business Development Centre (TBDC)
- Treefrog
- TSRV Canada Inc. (operating as Techstars Canada)
- University of Toronto Entrepreneurship Hatchery
- ventureLAB Innovation Centre
- VIATEC
- Waterloo Accelerator Centre
- York Entrepreneurship Development Institute
- YSpace (York University)

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