Foresight Cleantech Accelerator Centre

Foresight Cleantech Accelerator Centre

Foresight Cleantech Accelerator Centre was founded in 2009 in Kitchener, Ontario, to accelerate the commercialization of clean technologies. Jeanette Jackson has served as CEO since 2017, leading a team that provides mentorship, funding, and pilot opportunities to startups across Canada. The organization operates as both an accelerator and an early-stage investor, targeting seed and Series A companies in climate tech, energy transition, industrial efficiency, and agri-tech. It has invested in over 50 startups directly through its venture fund, Foresight Fund, and facilitated capital for more than 400 companies since inception. Confirmed portfolio companies include Calgary-based Eavor Technologies, a geothermal energy firm, 2020), and Toronto-based Ripple Glass, a glass recycling technology company, 2019). The accelerator draws startups from across Canada and has engaged with firms from the U.S. and Europe. Foresight reports having deployed over CAD 100 million in combined investment and funding across its portfolio (per the firm's official communications, 2023). The organization employs roughly 20 professionals and runs programs out of its Kitchener headquarters. It maintains a philanthropic arm, the Foresight Cleantech Fund, which supports nonprofit clean-energy initiatives in Canada. Foresight's structural differentiator is its hybrid model: it combines a nonprofit accelerator mandate with a for-profit venture fund, allowing it to de-risk early-stage investments for corporate and government partners. This structure lets the organization offer follow-on capital and pilot programs that typical seed investors cannot match.