After six years of preparation, Canadian social stock exchange SVX will officially launch at the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) tomorrow, September 19, at 9:15 a.m. It will be the first of its kind in North America to facilitate investments into local social enterprises.
Ilse Treurnicht, the CEO of social innovation centre MaRS Discovery District, will be joined by Tom Kloet, CEO of TMX Group, the company that owns the TSX, to open trading.
Others in attendance include Dr. Eric Hoskins, Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Employment, and Adam Spence, who has led the development of the SVX and is the Associate Director of the MaRS Centre for Impact Investing.
After the official announcement, a venture day demo will follow. Ten of the ventures on the SVX will give short presentations.
SVX was conceived to mobilize capital for public good. It will be a place where investors and funds can connect with local impact ventures that demonstrate a double or triple bottom line – social and/or environmental impact and the potential for financial return. These ventures include not-for-profits, co-operatives, and for-profit businesses.
The new platform aims to create a win-win situation for both investors and entrepreneurs by reducing the time needed for and cost of due diligence with screened investment opportunities, and providing an avenue for ventures to access capital and financial expertise.