FCC to be lead investor in SVG Ventures/THRIVE agrifood vehicle

• The Pioneer Fund is the third fund by SVG Ventures/THRIVE
• It will make initial investments in seed-stage to Series A global agrifood startups
• Canadian agriculture lender FCC has a portfolio of more than C$44 billion

Farm Credit Canada (FCC) has committed to be the lead investor in the SVG Ventures Pioneer Fund, a vehicle managed by SVG Ventures/THRIVE, a Silicon Valley-based agrifood investor.

The Pioneer Fund, which is planning to raise C$75 million, will be deployed to support global agrifood startups developing innovative and sustainable technologies.

FCC, a federal crown corporation, is an agricultural lender, providing Canadian entrepreneurs with the capital to grow their businesses. It has a loan portfolio of more than C$44 billion.

“FCC is pleased to be the lead investor in the SVG Ventures Pioneer Fund, which is a natural extension of our involvement in bringing SVG Thrive’s successful global accelerator and platform to Canada in 2020,” said Rebbecca Clarke, vice-president of FCC venture capital, in a statement. “The Pioneer Fund is an exciting and important next step in bringing needed capital to this growing acceleration ecosystem for start-up and early-stage entrepreneurs and companies in Canada’s agriculture and food industry.”

The Pioneer Fund is the third fund by SVG Ventures/THRIVE. It will make initial investments in seed-stage to Series A global agrifood startups. To date, SVG has invested in more than 80 agrifood technology companies.

SVG Ventures recently launched THRIVE Academy, a pre-accelerator program funded by Alberta Innovates.