Montreal, February 2nd , 2021 – Aqua Forum, the largest Canadian innovation platform dedicated to startups in the water sector and Cycle Capital’s BleuImpact Fund, the first impact investment fund in the water sector in Canada, are proud to announce a partnership aimed at accelerating the development and deployment of innovative start-ups in the water sector. The collaboration agreement between Aqua Forum and Cycle Capital’s BleuImpact Fund will consolidate the innovation ecosystem in the water sector in addition to allowing the emergence and development of practical solutions to pure water issues.<\/p>\n
Aqua Forum, which supports the development of solutions in the water sector across Canada, has supported more than 25 start-ups over the past five years. These are developing technologies related to water quality such as the reduction of road salt and the prevention of cyanobacteria outbreaks in lakes, as well as the development of decision-making tools for water management, such as the reduction of micro plastics in drinking water, the elimination of invasive plants or the elimination of phosphates in the agricultural sector.<\/p>\n
In order to further develop these companies, access to growth capital is essential. Therefore, the creation of the new BleuImpact investment fund in water technologies is becoming crucial.<\/p>\n
“This strategic partnership will offer a “one-stop-shop” to: validate and qualify solutions, support young entrepreneurs in setting up their businesses, deploy technological showcases of their solutions in the municipal and industrial market, accelerate and invest in these solutions, up to their large-scale commercial deployment,\u201d explains Fran\u00e7ois de Gasp\u00e9 Beaubien, Executive Chairman of Aqua Forum.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are very proud to be able to contribute to the massive green and blue recovery efforts of our various governments and trading partners. I am confident that under the leadership of our senior partner Simon Olivier, this collaboration will lead us to develop sustainable solutions that will be able to resolve pressing environmental issues\u201d, declares Andr\u00e9e-Lise M\u00e9thot, founder and Managing Partner at Cycle Capital.<\/p>\n
“Thanks to the vision of the Gasp\u00e9 Beaubien family, the source of inspiration behind Aqua Forum, and to this strategic partnership, entrepreneurs will now have access to the tools necessary to propel their solutions and thus create a positive impact on the environment, society and the economy,\u201d says Simon Olivier, Senior Partner at Cycle Capital and Lead of the BleuImpact Fund.<\/p>\n
About Aqua Forum<\/strong> About Cycle Capital<\/strong> Information<\/strong>
\nAqua Forum is a non-profit organization that oversees the AquaHacking and Aqua Entrepreneur initiatives. The AquaHacking challenge is a vehicle that facilitates the emergence and creation of companies in water technology and Aqua Entrepreneur is a support program to incubate, test and validate solutions in water management.\u00a0 For more information, visit aquahacking.com\/en\/<\/a><\/p>\n
\nCycle Capital is an impact investor and the largest private cleantech venture capital investment platform in Canada with $ 0.5 billion under management. With offices in Montreal, Toronto and Qingdao, mainland China, and a presence in New York and Seattle, Cycle Capital invests across North America and China in growing and commercializing companies that have developed technologies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and optimizing resources and processes. Cycle Capital is the founder of the Ecofuel Accelerator and Canadian co-chair of the Beyond the Billion initiative – an international campaign to mobilize a consortium of investors who support female founders. The BleuImpact Fund by Cycle Capital is a $ 15-20M seed\/early stage venture capital fund dedicated to innovative technology companies in the water sector. For more information on Cycle Capital, visit www.cyclecapital.com <\/a>.<\/p>\n
\nLaurence Basso
\nCommunications Coordinator
\nlaurence@aquahacking.com<\/a><\/p>\n