Nine notes on 10 years of Foresight

B.C.-based accelerator Foresight is celebrating 10 years of supporting Canada’s cleantech space. The organization dedicated its most recent annual report to discussing its decade of industry-shepherding prowess. Here are nine takeaways from us on 10 years of Foresight.

1. By the numbers: Foresight crunched the numbers on its decade of program delivery. Over that span, it’s created:

   • Over 240 Entrepreneurs in Residence (EIRs) or mentors; 150 domestic and international partners; and 1,500 collaborations with stakeholders, rightsholders, and partners.

   • $1.48 billion in capital for 1,021 companies, which have gone on to do $439 million in revenue and create over 7,780 jobs.
     

2. Close to home: In terms of B.C.-based businesses, Foresight has supported over 490 companies, seen 5,130 jobs created, and helped facilitate over $1.05 billion in capital raised since 2013. A few local alumni include Arca, Bryosphere, and Novion. Companies like these are further buoyed by sector-specific accelerators such as agriNEXT, bioNEXT, or buildNEXT.

3. A muted celebration: There’s a lot to celebrate,” said chair Keith Gillard. “In our first decade, we’ve accomplished a great deal — we’ve expanded our network of partners and ventures, deployed pan-Canadian programming, and scaled our own team to nearly 50 employees. However, our celebration comes amidst constant, sobering reminders of the urgency of our mission. This year, the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stated that humanity has reached a critical moment in history. To decarbonize and save our planet, we have a lot of work ahead of us.”
   

4. Up for adoption: Foresight has recently announced its proposal for a Cleantech Adoption Platform. After undertaking a rigorous discovery process to better understand the key barriers that are hindering progress toward municipal net zero and sustainability goals, it released a whitepaper outlining these barriers and detailing the benefits of Foresight’s proposed platform.

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