2022 Angel Investment in Canada Mirrored Venture Capital Dip, Dropping 37 Percent Year-Over-Year

According to data from the National Angel Capital Organization (NACO), Canadian angel investors were affected by the market downturn last year. 

Despite demand, angel investment dropped 37 percent last year. In 2021, over $260 million was invested by Canadian angels compared to only $166 million in 2022. NACO CEO Claudio Rojas attributes the drop to the post-COVID risk-averse environment. He says that the 2022 results are “a return to pre-COVID numbers.” 

This angel activity to some extent mirrors what has happened recently in the venture capital space: in 2022, venture capital investment in Canada declined by almost 30% year-over-year, but still remained high compared to earlier years. 

NACO recommends that the Canadian Government help foster angel investment by providing matching funds, as it has done in previous years, and launching a national angel-stage fund of funds program. Rojas believes that these types of programs are important because of the disproportionate growth of venture capital funding relative to angel investment over the past 12 years. While the number of firms making the transition from angel funding to venture capital remains strong, that number is disproportionate to the amount of capital flowing toward venture capital. Without proportionate growth, Rojas says, the venture capital ecosystem cannot be self-sustaining.