IMPACT
Since 2015, VERGE Capital has invested over $4 million in local social enterprises who are tackling Southwestern Ontario’s most challenging social and environmental issues.
OUR LOANS
$4.4M+
LOANS
43
SOCIAL ENTERPRISES
15
REPAID
4
DEFAULTS
OUR FUNDS
STARTUP FUND
BREAKTHROUGH FUND
OUR MISSION
INVESTING IN PEOPLE
VERGE Capital strives to provide more equitable access to financing, especially for those who have experienced barriers to traditional sources of capital, wealth and income.
Removing those barriers is an important part of our mission and mandate. We prioritize social entrepreneurs from (or organizations that serve) historically excluded and marginalized populations, such as women, Indigenous and people of colour, immigrants and newcomers, rural residents, members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, and people with disabilities.
We believe that an inclusive economy is a stronger economy, and that systemic inequalities require fundamental changes in the “system” itself – how it works, how power is held or shared, how decisions are made, and to whose benefit. Our work aims to broaden access, mitigate imbalances in power dynamics, and include more diverse perspectives in decision-making. Our loans do not require excessive collateral or personal guarantees from borrowers. Applications are assessed by an independent review panel of community volunteers with diverse backgrounds in terms of lived experience and professional expertise, while the VERGE Capital team is here to offer guidance and support, and facilitate an open and transparent process.
To ensure we are achieving our goals, we are currently working on collecting self-identified demographics data from our investee portfolio and volunteer review panel (in other words, where our money goes and who decides, respectively). We plan to anonymize this data and make it public on this webpage for the purposes of transparency and accountability.
OUR INVESTEES
% OWNED BY WOMEN
% OWNED BY PEOPLE OF COLOUR
OUR REVIEW PANEL
GENDER
PERSON OF COLOUR
2SLGBTQ+
AGE
PERSON LIVING WITH A DISABILITY
IMMIGRANT
Self-identified demographics data gathered from 30 survey responses, as of April 2022.
OUR GOALS
UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
Our investees, through their collective actions, contribute to the entire range of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, VERGE’s own operations have a direct connection to a number of SDGs and their specific targets:
Goal 8: Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all
8.3 Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services
Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
9.3 Increase the access of small-scale industrial and other enterprises, in particular in developing countries, to financial services, including affordable credit, and their integration into value chains and markets
Goal 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries
10.2 By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status
Goal 16: Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies
16.6 Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels
16.7 Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels
ADVANCING RECONCILIATION
One of the most significant failings of the SDGs is its lack of consideration of or engagement with Indigenous peoples. The SDGs were drafted and ratified by the UN’s member-states, a structure that does not reflect or represent Indigenous sovereignty and self-governance. That body did ratify a separate United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), which was subsequently (but not initially) endorsed by the Canadian government and is in the process of being implemented.
In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) issued 94 Calls to Action to advance reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. #92 specifically calls upon the corporate sector “to adopt the UNDRIP as a reconciliation framework and to apply its principles, norms, and standards to corporate policy and core operational activities”. VERGE is still early in our journey of implementing the TRC’s examples, including calling on our investees and partners to do the same. Follow the Yellowhead Institute as it monitors Canada’s progress on these Calls to Action.