Business

Deloitte Ventures commits $150 million to fuel emerging technology companies

In FY2023, Deloitte committed $150 million to invest in emerging tech companies in Canada’s innovation ecosystem, looking at verticals such as fintech, health tech, work tech, clean tech, data and artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity. Opportunities to invest in companies that move the needle on topical matters, including sustainability, and diversity, equity, and inclusion, are also sought out.

By directing the investment to advancements that help to create a flourishing community and solve technological and social problems, it’s imaginative capital well spent.

“Our differentiator is that we’re more than just capital. We can supercharge the growth of the companies we invest in” says Talia Abramowitz, the managing partner of Deloitte Ventures and a partner in the Financial Advisory practice.

For fiscal year 2023

Supporting Indigenous Nation-building

The Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation), whose territory encompasses parts of Metro Vancouver and the Burrard Inlet, English Bay, False Creek, and Howe Sound watersheds in British Columbia, had outgrown its financial ledger structure. We were there to help.

On the surface, the job involved redesigning the First Nation’s financial data structure and chart of accounts. This important work has supported all public services that rely on finance, allowing administrators to redirect their time to other activities that benefit the nation; it provides insights into efficiencies; and it helps earn public confidence. Yet for the client, it was the significant public sector experience paired with an understanding of the First Nation that is impressive; the firm's unique capabilities and insights supported the process of nation-building.

Delivering value to the postal service

We’ve been working with Canada Post since November 2020 to create a next-generation track-and-trace system for parcels. Parcel traffic had risen dramatically over the past decade before being supercharged by pandemic-fuelled demand for shipping adding great strain on the system. The postal service needed to replace a legacy system with something modern and scalable, with end-to-end visibility any time a package is scanned, moved, prepared, or updated. Deloitte helped to establish a foundational platform and we supported specific improvements, such as text-message notifications and automatic tracking of returned packages.