3 April 2024

10:55 – 12:30

Amphi 4

Jennifer McDonald

Jennifer McDonald is an active angel investor and advisor in the field of climate technologies. She brings over 20 years of experience in scaling impact businesses, with expertise in market validation, team development and international expansion. Prior to joining Cycle Momentum, she led strategy, product development and operations as COO at Moka Financial Technologies (acquired by MOGO). Jennifer’s career has focused on access to finance in emerging markets. She has led product development both as Director of Strategic Consulting at Women’s World Banking and as Deputy Managing Director of Procredit Banking Group, where she was responsible for the expansion of small business lending operations. Jennifer holds an MA in Development Economics from the University of Sussex and a BA (Hons) in Economics and Political Science from Dalhousie University and the University of King’s College.

Debate: How do you finance business development?

Financing start-ups is relatively complex. Generally speaking, funds are available for research and development. There are also traditional venture capitalists willing to support companies as they grow or expand. What happens in between? Where marketing is often regarded as the Valley of Death? It’s a time-consuming period for generating the first productions, organizing promotion and seeking out contracts. It’s also a time when you have to deal with all the red tape involved in certification and homologation, as well as the many and varied facets of sales and after-sales service. How can we support our start-ups through this Valley?