UBC seed fund receives $1.5m from two alumni

British Columbia University (UBC) alumni Greg Peet, a tech entrepreneur, and Glenn Walsh, founder of mining construction company Tercon Group, have donated a total of C$2m ($1.5m) to a UBC seed fund.

Peet committed C$1m and Walsh the other C$1m to e@UBC Seed Fund, which launched in 2013 and provides funding for companies formed by UBC students, recent alumni, faculty or staff to drive innovation and job creation in British Columbia.

UBC’s on-site incubator e@UBC oversees the fund, and offers accelerator programs, industry mentoring, and office space to spur the development of entrepreneurial projects.

Previous donors to the fund include the BC Innovation Council, an agency of the province of British Columbia responsible for supporting startups and accelerating tech commercialisation to meet industry needs.

In the three years since it was launched, the fund has invested C$1.35 million in 12 ventures, which have gone on to raise C$37 million in additional funding, and currently employ more than 140 people in British Columbia.

These ventures include bio-pesticides developer Terramera, water purifier provider Acuva Technologies, which uses light-emitting diodes to produce clean water, and Nanozen, a maker of wearable dust sensors that allows mill and mining workers to monitor the air they breathe.

The combined revenue of these companies is projected to reach C$8.6 million in 2016.

Peet, a principal at investment firm GrowthPoint Capital, said: “Early-stage funding is critical for a new venture to make the transition to a thriving enterprise. That is why I welcomed the opportunity to support the e@UBC seed fund, which will give our young inventors that head start.”

Walsh, chairman at Tercon, whose companies build infrastructure such as railways, highways and mines in Canada and abroad, said: “It is a pleasure to work with UBC to help innovators build new ventures and create jobs for themselves and their peers.”