A standardized Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Reporting Template for general partners of venture capital funds and their portfolios has been launched by BDC Capital, the investment arm of the Business Development Bank of Canada.

The tool is designed to align with the Canadian market.  

“We can only improve what we can measure,” Jérôme Nycz, Executive Vice President of BDC Capital, said in a statement.

“Building on global best practices, we want to make it easy for Canada’s innovation ecosystem to report on DEI… data that allows us all to continue to learn, adapt and improve together.”

The tool is inspired by the Institutional Limited Partners Association’s Diversity Metrics Template, and was developed through consultation with Canadian limited partners (LPs), general partners (GPs), and the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association.

"Evidence demonstrates that only with diverse perspectives can private capital make better investment decisions and ultimately improve returns for investors,” said Kim Furlong, Chief Executive Officer of the CVCA.

In the statement, BDC said that, through its national Women Entrepreneurship Strategy, it has provided more than $1.7 billion in financing to over 5,000 women entrepreneurs since 2018.

More recently, the bank worked with the National Aboriginal Capital Corporation Association to design the $150 million Indigenous Growth Fund.

It has also committed $130 million to support the Federation of African Canadian Economics’ Black Entrepreneurship Loan Fund. BDC Capital’s initiatives include co-creating fund platforms such as StandUp Ventures and BKR Capital’s Black Innovation Fund. It is home to the $200 million Women in Technology Venture Fund. BDC Capital is also a founding signatory of ILPA’s Diversity in Action initiative.

Download the DEI Reporting Template here.

Disclosure: BDC Capital is a client of Entrevestor.