What happened in this Finance story?

BDC became the first Canadian member of NATO DIANA's Capital Network, gaining access to allied defence-tech investment pipelines and ministry briefings. The move builds on BDC's expanded $6-billion defence platform supporting Canada's SMEs in the sector.

What is a key fact in this story? (1)

**Business Development Bank of Canada** (BDC) joined NATO's Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) Capital Network, becoming the first Canadian investor accepted into the group

What is a key fact in this story? (2)

**Peter Dawe**, BDC's senior vice-president of defence strategy, said the bank aims to showcase Canadian technologies and find investment partners, noting Canada is a 'relatively small market' that needs to pursue diverse ones

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BDC first Canadian to join NATO DIANA investor network — SkimNews

By Globe and Mail Business · Summarized & edited by Kapil Samant · 2026-09-21

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Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) joined NATO's Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) Capital Network, becoming the first Canadian investor accepted into the group
Peter Dawe, BDC's senior vice-president of defence strategy, said the bank aims to showcase Canadian technologies and find investment partners, noting Canada is a 'relatively small market' that needs to pursue diverse ones
DIANA was established in 2021 at a NATO summit in Brussels; its affiliated capital network was launched earlier this year (2025) to match entrepreneurs with investors across the alliance
BDC was connected to DIANA through COVE, the NATO DIANA-certified accelerator in Halifax, with federal government support, and was invited to join the new investor network for its role as Canada's development bank
Canada leads the alliance in DIANA applications and is home to nearly 20 affiliated facilities, including some of DIANA's 16 accelerator sites; 22 of the 150 companies selected for the 2026 DIANA cohort are Canadian
BDC increased its defence platform from $4-billion to $6-billion earlier this year, with $500-million allocated to VC, growth equity and private equity funds for defence and dual-use technologies, and another $200-million added to its $300-million StrongNorth early-stage fund
BDC said it now has approximately $900-million in exposure to defence and dual-use companies

Why it matters: BDC now has a structured channel into NATO's allied defence procurement ecosystem, giving Canadian small-to-medium businesses a more direct route to allied supply chains. With roughly 15% of DIANA's 2026 cohort already Canadian and $900M deployed by BDC, Ottawa's push for sovereign defence capability now has a formal investment bridge to NATO buyers.