Sweater Ventures

Portage Ventures is a global investor dedicated to supporting FinTech companies. The Portage team has deep entrepreneurial and industry experience and provides founders with privileged access to the firm’s partners, in-house experts, and broader global ecosystem. Portage Ventures has a presence in Canada, the US, Europe and Asia. Portage is a part of multi-asset class alternative investment platform Sagard.

We deploy financial, human and intellectual capital in service of a better system. We support pre-seed to growth stage companies that embed finance in their products, services and operations. Our Mission To build a more equitable world through a more accessible, transparent and fair business and financial ecosystem. Our Ecosystem We bring together investors, entrepreneurs, incumbent players, market innovators, influencers, change agents, academics and policymakers. Together, we harness the transformative power of technology, finance, people, ideas and capital, so all of us can thrive. Guiding PrinciplesAuthentic Collaboration: Transformative change in the financial system is an evolution, not a revolution. We cultivate a collaborative ecosystem to invest, grow and transform across the globe. Virtuous Cycle Outcomes: The world needs a more resilient, sustainable and inclusive financial system. We invest in companies that embody non-zero sum mindsets and are committed to generating a net positive impact on the world. Diversity and Inclusivity: We believe that to successfully cultivate change in our industry and our world, teams must commit to diversity, equity and inclusivity at their core. We have built our company on this principle and we only invest in companies that do the same.

At Morgan Stanley, we connect capital to ideas so that businesses can grow, new products can be created, and communities can thrive. Even in today’s well developed markets, access to capital is uneven, and investors miss opportunities to fund potentially successful ventures in underserved populations. Through our Inclusive Ventures Group, we aim to help broaden access to capital for overlooked innovators, and spotlight others who are succeeding in investing in this space.

We seek bold ideas, thoughtful approaches, and intelligent people who are passionate about what they’re building. We closely partner with our portfolio companies, offering a diverse set of business, technical, and financial expertise to help them reach their goals, from product to business development to fundraising and beyond. We combine our unique technological expertise with thoughtful due diligence and market insight to find value before anyone else. We partner with startups in the earliest stages from incubation to pre-seed – no company or idea is too early for Tower Research Ventures.

As Venture Capitalists, we invest in smart people solving difficult problems. Our mission is to generate world-class investment returns over the long term. Wavelaunch is an investment VC firm backing the best founders and entrepreneurs who are just getting started; whether it’s pre-seed, seed, or Series A. At Wavelaunch, we work closely with companies to help them get in the best shape possible before we pitch them to our investors. Our initial investment ranges from 500K-2 Million and ideal ownership is 7-12%. Our Vision 1. Create a high-value ecosystem of startups, financial institutions, founders, engineers, executives, regulators, academics, and thought leaders driving financial services disruption, and connect them with people who want to be a part of it. 2. Invest in (and profit from) the technology-driven financial startups that are transforming the industry. Our current portfolio consists of a globally diversified portfolio of best-in-class, high-growth, digitally native financial services companies. 3. Provide financial services and technology companies with strategic and investment advice and tools to help them meet the needs of 21st-century consumers and businesses by forcing them to reconsider investment opportunities, business models, design, user experience, data, technology, and customer success. 4. As a pattern for the economy, build one of the world’s greatest diversified financial services companies with a dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion. 5. Bring together and invest in outstanding entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and change agents in the world of finance to reinvent finance for the information era. Our Philosophy If you look at a few venture capital websites, you’ll realize that they all sound the same. They all claim to work with exceptional founders. You will hear terms like “We believe that technology can change the world” or “From the beginning, we have backed excellent businesses.” That hasn’t always been the case though. Seed-stage financing was not a thing a few years ago, and many people thought it would survive. Founders who afterward became investors were outliers. Every VC promises founders access to folks and networks that will help them succeed. Even multi-stage and mega-growth corporations are getting into seed-stage investing, putting money into startups that are only a few people with a great idea. However, speak with a few Wavelaunch Founders and they’ll explain how we’re different. They’ll tell you how we’ve helped them go from a great founder to a great CEO by understanding how difficult and lonely the startup path can be. They’ll discuss how we helped them establish a better company by focusing just on the first two years - in part because we’re not available to lead their Series A or B round. They’ll tell you that instead of stuffy board meetings, we believe in working sessions when you’re just getting started - jam sessions when we dive deep on a topic. That their Wavelaunch partner is the first person they phone and call, their corner coach - and the kick in the back when they need it the most. The startups we’ve backed will gush about how we helped them get their most critical hiring, position their business, and design their sales playbook. Skyler Joves from InfluenceBLU will tell you that she met her co-founder Reiner through us. Ranveer from Otipy will remember how we worked with him as his head of marketing early on to brand for its success. And Brand05’s founders will gladly discuss how they fine-tuned their sales pitch with their first 20 customers, all of whom were Wavelaunch companies. They’ll almost certainly note that through the Wavelaunch Review, we give the greatest tactical tips to help other entrepreneurs achieve the same. While the word “community” is bandied around a lot these days, they’ll say that our efforts to connect founders across Wavelaunch companies have given them the most beneficial collection of peers. They’ll tell you that our Founder Retreat was “hands down” the “most valuable professional event” they’ve ever attended. That this group of peers not only assists them in dealing with tactical issues but also gives them a sense of belonging. They’ll tell you how exhausting and time-consuming getting finance may be, and how much Pitch Assist helped. How a specialized Series A capital team assisted them in crafting a compelling narrative, determining the best strategy, and creating a visually appealing presentation that got the job done. They’ll tell you that they never expected to spend 50 hours honing their pitch, but that this fundraising boot camp is one of the main reasons why 80 percent of First Round-backed firms “graduate” to Series A. (compared to an industry average of 31 percent ). They’ll tell you that we’re quality-obsessed and always striving to improve. We start small and iterate quickly, as do all great founders. That Fast Track began by putting together a small group of mentors and mentees in the hopes of learning something over a quarter. It is presently a program that provides approximately 1500 people with structured learning and development programming regularly. 83 percent of mentees feel their jobs have altered as a result of their mentorship. Above everything else, they’ll tell you that we always do the right thing, even when it’s difficult. We believe in long-term thinking, and we will not be out there trying to make $0.10 on our dollar if the company is shut down. They are well aware that we may be the first to check into their next venture. It’s difficult to explain how we’re different when every venture capital website says the same thing. Fortunately for us, not every VC receives the same treatment from founders. Sincerely, Team Wavelaunch

We invest in FinTech founders on a mission to shape the future of Africa.