This year the province of Alberta surpassed BC in terms of investment dollars attracted, drawing a total of $383 million across 41 deals.
Following this “continued momentum” up, Start Alberta recently recognized the top areas for venture capital flow in the province through 2024.
And at the head of the pack, in front of Energy and Health, was Fintech.
Financial technology had a stellar year in Canada, and the region of Alberta was no exception.
Below, we highlight some of the fintechs recognized by Start Alberta.
Neo
Few startups in Canada have experienced the recent run that Calgary’s Neo Financial has. In 2024, the rapidly growing fintech has struck multiple partnerships, launched new features, raised serious capital, and topped major national lists.
Specific achievements for Neo’s banner year include an impressive first place in Deloitte Canada’s Technology Fast 50, representing both the financial technology sector and the city of Calgary as the company reported an impressive three-year growth of more than 150,000%. Neo also ranked #1 in Report on Business magazine’s annual ranking of Canada’s Top Growing Companies with reported revenue growth north of 38,000%.
Throughout the year, the fintech announced partnerships with various organizations, from the Canadian Elite Basketball League to Toronto’s CI Financial. And in addition, the company unveiled new features and product enhancements, such as credit-building solutions targeting newcomers to Canada. Within two years, Neo has evolved its suite of offerings from one product to eight.
As we approach the end of the year, the Canadian fintech is hardly resting on its laurels. Last month, Neo announced $360 million in Series D fundraising.
ZayZoon
In March, Calgary’s ZayZoon raised $20 million in an extension of its Series B financing led by Viola Fintech with participation from Intuit Ventures and existing investors Framework Venture Partners, and Export Development Canada.
By partnering with payroll providers to help small businesses offer their employees early access to their wages, ZayZoon alleviates the financial challenges many Americans face and helps small business owners better hire, retain and motivate their teams.
The company also ranked in the top 100 of the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 and 14th on Deloitte’s Canadian Technology Fast 50.
PayShepherd
The Calgary-based innovator of financial services for heavy industry announced an oversubscribed “seed+” round of funding in March.
PayShepherd wants to become the “system of record” for financial transactions between industrial facilities and contractors. Working as a billing management and contract assurance platform, the company’s solution sits between facilities and the contracted workforce to identify billing issues, increase visibility and accountability into operations, and increase speed.
Launched in 2018 by Wesley Sessenwein, Jennifer Hunter, and Johan Lee, PayShepherd last raised a $3.8 million in 2022. Now the Alberta fintech-to-watch has another $7 million to play with, thanks to a round led by Inovia Capital with participation from existing investors Nashville Capital Network, Thin Air Labs, Yaletown Partners, A100, and angel investors.
The influx of capital will enable PayShepherd to further deepen its technology, including applying Artificial Intelligence to its platform of offerings, according to a statement from the company. PayShepherd has now raised over $12M in equity financing to date.
Helcim
In February, Calgary-born payments innovator Helcim raised a $27 million Series B funding round led by San Francisco venture capital firm Headline.
Other updates for 2024 from Helcim include the launch of Integrated Payments for Developers and Platforms, a Contract Buyout Program to help businesses switch payment providers, an Automated Invoice Payments integration QuickBooks that simplifies accounts receivables, the launch of Tap to Pay on iPhone for customers in North America, the introduction of a Recurring Payments tool aimed at automating billing for businesses, and a partnership with Toronto-based PatientSERV.
Helcim is led by founder and chief executive officer Nicolas Beique alongside chief of finance Marjorie Junio-Read and chief of tech Brett Popkey.
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