Canadian founders are building innovative companies with strong growth potential, but access to early-stage capital remains challenging.
Even companies with real traction can struggle to identify the right investors, prepare effectively for fundraising, and build relationships outside their immediate networks.
To help address this gap, Spark Centre has launched the Spark Capital Access Program (SCAP), a national investor-readiness and capital-access initiative designed to prepare select Canadian companies for fundraising and connect them with investors across Canada and the United States.
SCAP is designed to be more than a Demo Day, though.
Meet the team: Karan Pandya, Program Manager (left) and Martin Yuill, Executive Director (right) at Spark Centre.
It combines structured fundraising preparation, curated investor access, and ongoing investor engagement to create stronger connections between promising Canadian companies and the capital they need to grow.
“By combining the critical elements of preparation, curation, and ongoing investor engagement, SCAP is intended to make each interaction more productive for founders and investors,” Karan Pandya (left), SCAP Program Manager told us.
Why SCAP?
Canada’s early-stage funding environment has become increasingly selective.
Recent Canadian venture capital data shows declining seed activity and fewer early-stage companies actively raising capital.
For founders, this means entering investor conversations well prepared is becoming increasingly important. For investors, it also increases the value of seeing companies that have already been screened and prepared before an introduction.
SCAP is intended to address both sides of that equation.
“From our work with hundreds of innovators and entrepreneurs, we know that access to early-stage investment remains a significant challenge for Canadian ventures,” says Martin Yuill, Spark Centre’s executive director. “Spark Centre’s new SCAP program is specifically designed to help founders prepare effectively, give investors access to curated Canadian deal flow, and build stronger connections across North America.”
Who Can Participate?
SCAP is open to eligible companies from across Canada.
The program is designed for post-revenue companies with:
- A market-ready product or solution
- Demonstrated commercial traction
- At least CAD $200,000 in revenue during the previous 12 months
- A defined fundraising objective
- A commitment to investor preparation
The program is sector-agnostic and welcomes innovation-driven companies across industries including health and life sciences, cleantech, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, digital technologies, agri-tech, agri-food, and other emerging sectors.
There are no participation fees, and Spark Centre does not take equity in participating companies.
Preparing Companies for Capital
Companies selected for SCAP will receive targeted fundraising and investor-readiness support before engaging with investors.
This includes support with their fundraising strategy, pitch development, financial readiness, due diligence and deal-room preparation, investor targeting, and presentation coaching.
The objective is simple: ensure founders can clearly communicate their market opportunity, traction, growth strategy, financial position, and use of capital when they enter an investor conversation.
More Than a Demo Day for Investors
According to Pandya, SCAP has been intentionally designed to create value for both investors as well as founders.
Participating investors will gain access to screened and prepared Canadian companies, helping them identify relevant opportunities and improve the quality of initial conversations.
Investor engagement will extend beyond the scheduled Demo Days.
SCAP will also provide:
- Curated opportunities between Demo Days
- Targeted founder-investor introductions
- Investor-focused sessions
- Reverse-pitch events, allowing investors to explain their investment thesis, sectors, stages and cheque-size preferences
- Sector-specific investor events
- Opportunities for Canadian investors to refer portfolio companies preparing for their next financing round
Referred portfolio companies can receive fundraising support and potentially connect with a broader network of Canadian and U.S. investors.
This means SCAP can support investors in two ways: by helping them discover new Canadian investment opportunities and by helping their existing portfolio companies prepare for future rounds of capital.
Recurring Investor Engagement
SCAP will host invitation-only virtual Demo Days on a recurring basis, allowing founders and investors to participate regardless of geography.
Companies will present to a curated group of investors selected according to factors such as sector, stage, and fundraising fit.
Spark Centre will also support follow-up introductions, information requests, and potential diligence conversations following each event.
The inaugural SCAP cohort is expected to include approximately five Canadian companies, with the first virtual Demo Day planned for October 2026.
Building on Spark Centre’s Experience
Established in 2010, Spark Centre is an Ontario Regional Innovation Centre supporting innovative companies through advisory services, specialized programs, partnerships and access to capital.
Spark Centre has supported more than 500 companies across different stages of their growth journey. SCAP builds on that experience by expanding Spark Centre’s capital-access efforts.
Applications for SCAP Are Now Open
Applications for the Spark Capital Access Program are now open to eligible startups across Canada. Founders can click here to apply to the program.
For more information or to get involved, please contact:
Karan Pandya
Spark Capital Access Program Manager
E: [email protected]
About Spark Centre
Spark Centre is Durham Region’s leading technology and innovation business incubator. We offer accessible entrepreneurship support to early-stage and growing technology and innovation ventures through advisory services, mentorship, funding connections, co-working space, educational programs, and ecosystem-building activities. Click here to learn more about our various program options!
