Modelling alternative financing tools for a more diverse marketplace
Spring Impact Capital is an emerging Fund manager launched in 2023 by Spring Activator, a pillar of Canada’s growing impact investing sector. For more than a decade, Spring Activator has been supporting social entrepreneurs and aspiring impact investors with hands-on learning opportunities and coaching. Spring Impact Capital Fund I (Spring), the inaugural institutional Fund, is a response to a clear market need identified through this work for more patient and value-aligned capital, particularly at the pre-seed and seed stage.
Spring’s mission is to change the world through innovation. The Fund has identified an opportunity to generate attractive returns and meaningful impact by investing in pre-seed/seed companies that are driving positive climate and health outcomes using technology. Spring will be one of the first venture capital funds in Canada to allocate a portion of its portfolio to revenue-based financing and redeemable equity structures –– two innovative financing tools that offer viable funding alternatives for social enterprises that are delivering both high impact and returns but are overlooked by traditional VC models.
Spring Impact Capital’s theory of change also recognizes the important role that social finance intermediaries play in reducing social and gender inequities. The Fund has made investing in diverse teams one of its primary impact objectives, which Spring Impact Capital has worked proactively to achieve by seeking out partnerships with organizations that work with entrepreneurs from underrepresented communities and regions.
For Boann, Spring exemplifies how targeted, strategic efforts can build up a social finance ecosystem where impact, innovation, and financial strength go hand-in-hand.