La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec announced on Tuesday it has formed a partnership with the Desjardins Group to launch a new fintech investment fund. The creation of this fund was announced during the Canada FinTech Forum
According to the Canadian companies, the funds propose is to support the growth and development of fintech companies in Québec and Canada. Pierre Miron, Chief Operations and IT Officer at La Caisse, stated:
“With its high concentration of talent in information technology and the robustness of its financial industry, all the pieces are in place for Québec to see the emergence of a first-rate FinTech industry. We strongly believe that this new fund will foster the development of new technology solutions that will significantly improve business processes and operational efficiency.”
Guy Cormier, President and Chief Executive Officer of Desjardins Group, then revealed:
“This new fund is very timely. Not even two weeks ago, the Brookfield Institute ranked Montréal in first place in Canada for its concentration of jobs in the high-tech sector. This support for FinTech will enable our financial sector companies to be world-class pioneers, particularly with regard to customer experience and competitiveness with the giants that are moving into our industry.”
Both la Caisse and Desjardin noted that the fund, which has yet to be named by its sponsors, will also make share capital investments. It will target companies that develop technology affecting investments, payments, client acquisition and retention, data analysis, deposits and loans, security or insurance. The duo went on to add that the companies that wish to participate in the fund will need to demonstrate that they have the following:
- Experienced entrepreneurs
- An adaptable business model
- A competitive product that is already generating interest and targets large markets