CBGF 2025 Year In Review

Letter From the Co-Managing Partners: Embrace Change, Stay the Course

Dale Tingley and Hai Tran-Viet

CO-MANAGING PARTNERS

“Our investment pipeline is robust, interest from Canadian-scale-ups is growing, and the need for patient minority growth capital for Canadian companies has never been clearer. Whatever changes arise in the economic, political, or technological landscape, our approach remains consistent: stay disciplined, stay supportive, and stay focused on creating long-term value.”

In a world where the rate of change is accelerating, there is power in stability and commitment to a long-term vision. We believe that entrepreneurial success requires awareness of and adapting to changing conditions on the field but remaining focused on the long-term plan that a business was built around. Our best partners do not react to volatility with volatility. Instead, they respond through a series of thoughtful adjustments – not with sudden, hard pivots toward the latest trend.

CBGF entered 2025 with optimism that the economy and investment environment would improve relative to 2024. Many Canadian entrepreneurs were seeking growth capital in Q4 2024, as they were feeling confident that the worst of the economic and capital market downturn was behind us. Then the threat of tariffs began, followed by the (rollercoaster) experience of actual tariffs being turned on, increased, decreased, increased again, and turned off while trade deals were negotiated. As we all remember, the first half of 2025 was a time of unprecedented change and uncertainty. Any feelings of optimism were quickly replaced with a general sense of uncertainty and an erosion of confidence. This caused many entrepreneurs to take a ‘wait and see’ approach, especially companies with meaningful exposure to U.S. exports.

Some companies took a different view. While fully aware of the uncertain environment and potential risks to their business, their window of opportunity was open, and they decided to push forward with their plans, raise capital, and manage the risks along the way. Belief in their vision, team, and potential gave them the conviction to think big.

We partnered with three such companies in 2025: Layla Care, Litco LSO, and Minus Waste Solutions. Each of these companies represents the type of founder-led Canadian business we are proud to partner with – innovative, values-driven, and committed to building important (if not leading) companies within their industry. These investments strengthen our portfolio and broaden the impact we aim to have across Canada’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Across our portfolio, we saw founders manage a challenging year with determination. Growth was more challenging and expensive to achieve in 2025, but many of our portfolio companies leaned into their business to find a better way – figuring out how to leverage AI, accelerating hiring and product development, and even testing the market on M&A. And through this, CBGF continued to support the portfolio with follow-on capital and hands-on value creation. This approach ensures our partners have the resources and support they need to seize opportunities, to build great teams, and to execute on their plans. 2025 was not an easy year; our partners showed tremendous resilience and progress, fueled by belief in their mission and a desire to win. We are proud to be working alongside them.

2025 was also a milestone year for our incredible and talented team at CBGF. We were honoured to be recognized with Canada’s Most Admired™ Corporate Culture Award, presented by Waterstone Human Capital, and achieved our B Corp recertification. This is a testament to the values that CBGF was built on. This recognition reflects the dedication of our team, the trust of our partners, and the culture of collaboration and integrity that guides everything we do. As we continue our own growth story, CBGF is committed to preserving the principles that earned this distinction while continuing to evolve as an organization.

As the year 2025 progressed, the world settled into a pattern of lower volatility, if not a sense of stability. Interest rates began to trend downward, inflation continued to ease, and the equity markets continued to reach new highs. These developments helped to restore confidence and sparked renewed activity in equity, lending, and M&A.

CBGF exited an eventful 2025 even better than we began. Our team is strong and passionate about our mission, our portfolio is full of dedicated, talented entrepreneurs who are performing well, and the world is ready to get ‘back to business’ after a volatile 2025 and a prolonged private markets slowdown. With this backdrop, we enter 2026 with cautious optimism. For the foreseeable future, the world is one announcement away from another round of uncertainty, but the leading indicators for CBGF’s business are encouraging. Our investment pipeline is robust, interest from Canadian-scale-ups is growing, and the need for patient minority growth capital for Canadian companies has never been clearer. Whatever changes arise in the economic, political, or technological landscape, our approach remains consistent: stay disciplined, stay supportive, and stay focused on creating long-term value.

To our portfolio companies, our partners, and the entrepreneurs who continue to inspire us – thank you. Your ambition fuels our purpose, and your passion and creativity strengthen the Canadian economy.

Here’s to another year of building, scaling, and thriving – together.

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2025 Investment Summary

Note: All numbers are as at December 31, 2025

In 2025, CBGF deployed $45.6 million in capital, investing in new partnerships and our existing portfolio. The CBGF team focuses on the continued success of our portfolio companies, completing six follow-on investments in the year. In addition, we added three new partnerships, bringing the total number of growing Canadian companies we have invested in since inception to 34. CBGF also exited Librestream. Thank you to all of our stakeholders, partners, and advisors for supporting our continued success last year.

2025 Highlights

Note: Investment highlights below are between Jan 1, 2025 and Dec 31, 2025

JANUARY 2025

Q1 2025

CBGF invested in Layla Care

Completed three follow-on investments

Q2 2025

CBGF invested in Litco LSO

CBGF invested in Minus Waste Solutions

Completed two follow-on investments

Q3 2025

Completed one follow-on investment

Exited its 7th portfolio company, Librestream

CBGF completed its B Corp Recertification

Q4 2025

CBGF awarded with Canada’s Most Admired™ Corporate Cultures Award

DECEMBER 2025

CBGF’s Impact Since Inception

Note: All numbers are as at December 31, 2025

CBGF has invested over $435 million since our inception. We have backed a total of 34 growing Canadian companies with headquarters in eight provinces. Our companies employ over 9,000 people globally, of which 7,896 are based in Canada. In addition, CBGF has exited seven investments to date, allowing the Fund to reinvest its exit proceeds to support CBGF’s evergreen mandate.

In addition, CBGF has completed 54 follow-on transactions, continuing to support our portfolio companies with the capital and expertise needed along the way. Since our initial investments, our portfolio companies have created over 5,077 new jobs globally (55% total portfolio growth), with 4,186 of those jobs in Canada.

CBGF is continuing to make a positive impact on Canada’s economy, and we hope to continue this trend into 2026 and the years to come.

Over $0

Capital invested since inception

Employees backed globally

Jobs created in Canada

Companies backed

Follow-ons

Exits

Legend

Head Office

Satellite Office

Head Office

Montreal, QC

Invested Since

May 2022

Sector

Activity Management Software

Website

Amilia.com

Leadership

Hugo Lachance, CEO
Francois Gaouette, Founder

2025 Year in Review

Letter From the Co-Managing Partners: Embrace Change, Stay the Course

2025 Investment Summary

2025 Highlights

CBGF’s Impact Since Inception