Vancouver’s Raven Indigenous Capital Partners has bolstered its investment team as it prepares to raise its next fund.
The news: Ryan St. Germaine has joined the impact-driven venture capital (VC) firm as a general partner (GP). He and Raven announced the news on LinkedIn last week, when he officially assumed the role. Raven, which claims to be North America’s only Indigenous-led and owned VC firm, backs Indigenous-led tech businesses across the continent, from seed to Series A rounds. Its portfolio includes AdvancedAg, Animikii, CruxOCM, and PLATO Testing, among others.
From the source: “We talk about wanting more Indigenous folks in venture, and if we want to do that, we’ve got to take bets on the people that we believe can get it done,” St. Germaine told BetaKit in an interview. “I think people recognize my abilities. I’ve founded and led and exited companies on the other side, and it’s not that different.”
The context: In VC, moving straight to GP is rare, as most people gradually work their way up the ranks. But St. Germaine and Raven are confident that he has the chops to excel in this position. The Métis serial technology entrepreneur behind BCjobs.ca, Jobcast, and Indigenous Tech Circle had sat on Raven’s investment committee for its $100-million CAD second fund and served as an entrepreneur-in-residence since early 2024, where the firm said he has played “an important part” in its work.
St. Germaine joins existing Raven GPs Althea Wishloff and Sean McCormick under managing partner Stephen Nairne. He said there are no other immediate changes to Raven’s leadership. Raven plans to begin raising its next fund in late 2025 or early 2026. For now, he’s supporting existing Raven companies from Fund II and its $25-million predecessor. The firm is also deploying a $32-million Indigenous Outcomes Fund that’s geared toward supporting climate and health initiatives that improve outcomes for Indigenous communities.
Final thought: The new Raven GP said Indigenous companies don’t receive enough early-stage risk capital. St. Germaine is excited by the chance to help create “more equitable outcomes” for the community. He is also looking forward to working more closely with the startups he previously pitched on participating in Indigenous Tech Circle, where he plans to transition out of the CEO role but stay involved on the board.
Feature image courtesy Raven Indigenous Capital Partners.
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