The Kauffman Fellows organization has announced that its annual summit is coming to Montréal this September.
Kauffman Fellows says it has more than 940 members from over 60 countries.
As a global network of venture capital (VC) investors, Kauffman Fellows members unite at a summit hosted in a new country every year to build relationships in new VC ecosystems. This year, the summit has partnered with the Crown corporation Business Development Bank of Canada, (BDC) as Canada joins a list of host countries that includes Kenya, Mexico, and Japan. Montréal will host the invite-only regional tour from Sept. 15 to 18, 2024.
BDC president and CEO Isabelle Hudon said in a statement that venture capital is an important catalyst for innovation and productivity in Canada, and that they are thrilled Montréal is hosting this year’s summit.
“By continuing to deepen our collaboration with Kauffman Fellows, our aim is to forge impactful connections at the international level and [build] an even more robust ecosystem around Canadian innovators, which is key to our role as development bank,” Hudon said.
Kauffman Fellows said in a statement the summit’s goal is to provide exposure to the Canadian VC ecosystem, as hundreds of venture capitalists and limited partners (LPs) from over 45 countries are interested in investment and partnership opportunities in the Montréal region.
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The summit will feature speakers from notable Canadian startups and VC funds, including success stories shared by Shopify president Harley Finklestein, Xanadu founder and CEO Christian Weedbrook, and Sheertex founder and CEO Katherine Homuth. Additionally, Hopper and Deep Sky co-founder Frédéric Lalonde and Summit Nanotech CEO Amanda Hall will discuss cleantech, while Cohere president Martin Kon and Waabi founder and CEO Raquel Urtasun discuss the future of artificial intelligence.
There will also be panels focused on LP and GP relationships, which will feature Canadian LPs including Hudon, Northleaf Capital’s Ian Carew, Harbourvest’s Senia Rapisarda, alongside more than a dozen members of Kauffman Fellows.
Founded in 1995, the Kauffman Fellows website says the organization has more than 940 members from over 60 countries collectively representing more than 650 venture firms. Its Canadian Fellows Summit Committee, which designed the content, venues, and experiences available to this year’s attendees, includes Framework’s Ajay Gopal, BDC’s Michelle Scarborough, Brightspark’s Éléonore Jarry, and Inovia’s Mia Morisset.
Feature image courtesy Kauffman Fellows via LinkedIn.