Canada the Second-Best Place for VC and PE Investments

The third edition of the Global Venture Capital and Private Equity Country Attractiveness Index reveals that Canada is a hot bed of venture capital and private equity investment. Our bounty of companies to invest in, coupled with our low-risk and high-return ratio makes the True North an ideal place for investors.

The study, conducted by IESE Business School in Barcelona and sponsored by Ernst & Young, a global assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services firm, ranked 116 countries using six factors: economic (GDP, inflation rate and unemployment rate), size and liquidity of capital markets, taxation, investor protection and corporate governance, human rights and favourable social environment, entrepreneurial culture and deal opportunities.

Canada fared better than every country in the study—116 in all—apart from the U.S., which ranked No. 1. For entrepreneurs, this means that Canada is a profitable and secure place to launch and operate a business–as well as one of the best places in the world for VC investment. While the Canadian entrepreneurial community complains that we don't have sufficient access to VC investment, this will surely change as potential investors see what a safe opportunity Canada provides for their investment dollars, and, however limited the opportunities, Canada is better than 115 other countries.

For more on the index, visit the IESE Business School's VC-PE blog.

Read about Neuralitic Systems, a company that secured $20 million in venture capital, to find out what investors want.