UVic initiative looks to promote blended finance in Canada

UVic initiative looks to promote blended finance in Canada

Published 12:10 pm Tuesday, September 1, 2026

A new initiative spearheaded by the University of Victoria’s Impact Investing Hub is looking to develop a knowledge hub to help Canadians understand and use blended finance to overcome funding barriers.

Announced at the Victoria Forum in late August, Blended Finance Canada is a research and innovation hub that connects researchers, investors, governments, businesses and other organizations to co-develop financing solutions that move projects from ideas to implementation.

According to UVic finance professor Basma Majerbi, blended finance is using development finance and philanthropic funding towards emerging and frontier markets with the goal of providing positive results for both communities and investors who wouldn’t otherwise risk investing in said markets.

“Bringing these sources of capital together early on can help reduce investment risk and cover early costs, making the project more attractive for additional investors to step in,” he said in a news release.

Although blended finance has become increasingly prominent internationally, its potential to address capital barriers within Canada remains underdeveloped, according to UVic.

Blended Finance Canada will structure its program of work across four areas — research and evidence on blended-finance models, instruments, capital structures, governance models, risk allocation, and impact measurement; piloting and demonstration; connecting investors, governments, communities, and researchers through roundtables, working groups and forums; and knowledge mobilization and capacity building.

“Canada needs stronger pathways between promising solutions and the investors capable of helping them grow. By combining research, investment expertise, venture support and real-world experimentation, Blended Finance Canada can help projects and organizations become investment-ready while enabling capital providers to identify credible opportunities for impact,” said Keith Ippel, co-CEO of Spring, who is partnered with UVic with the Scale Institute.

The initiative will announce its program of activities, advisory structure, partnership opportunities and first research, convening, capacity-building and demonstration initiatives in the fall of 2026.