Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
June 19, 2026 | NCFA Resource | Artificial Intelligence And Data

On June 18, 2026, the Bank of Canada published Measuring the AI Economy, a staff working paper by Anton Korinek and Patrick McKelvey. The paper examines whether traditional economic statistics can properly capture AI production, compute growth, model training, inference output, and the value being created inside the AI economy.
The paper argues that AI activity is difficult to see through standard GDP categories because it is spread across cloud computing, software, professional services, data centres, chips, electricity, and model development. That makes AI look smaller in official statistics than it may be in production capacity.
The research builds a first macroeconomic estimate of US AI production from 2023 to 2025. It starts with compute as the core input, generated from AI chips, data centre capacity, and electricity. That compute is then split between inference and training.
Inference produces AI outputs used across the economy. Training creates model capital, which the authors treat as an intangible asset that improves future AI output.
The headline numbers are large. The authors estimate that nominal AI compute spending grew from $36.92B in 2023 to $90.46B in 2024 and $219.17B in 2025. That implies annual growth of about 145% in 2024 and 142.3% in 2025.
Physical compute output grew faster, rising about 211.9% in 2024 and 213.9% in 2025. After quality adjustments, the paper estimates AI production growth above 2,000% per year. Its early AI GDP framework estimates real AI GDP growth of about 2,600% in 2024 and 2,658% in 2025.
The authors are careful about the limits. These aren't official GDP statistics. The framework relies on strong assumptions, limited data, and uncertainty about how benchmark performance turns into economic value.
This resource is useful for fintech founders, AI companies, policy teams, investors, economists, regulators, data centre operators, infrastructure investors, and anyone tracking how AI affects productivity, capital allocation, labour markets, and public policy.
It is especially relevant for teams working on AI infrastructure, compute markets, AI governance, productivity measurement, model economics, and public sector digital strategy.
The strength of the paper is its measurement lens. It doesn't treat AI as a single software category. It treats AI production as a system built from chips, power, data centres, inference, training, and model capital. That connects directly to the market question of pricing access to scarce AI capacity.
That's valuable for NCFA readers because compute is becoming an economic input, not just a technical resource. If compute markets, energy access, chip supply, and model efficiency determine AI output, then AI policy and AI competition cannot be separated from infrastructure.
The paper also gives policymakers a warning. If official statistics do not capture AI capacity early enough, fiscal planning, productivity analysis, tax policy, and monetary policy may be working with incomplete information. The same measurement issue shows up in central bank operations, where the Bank of Canada has already examined AI adoption in central banking.
The limit is uncertainty. The authors don't claim to replace GDP. They propose a measurement framework that can support future AI satellite accounts and better statistical infrastructure.
Bank Of Canada Measuring The AI Economy (primary Bank of Canada working paper)
AI Agents Enter Governed Financial Workflows (AI governance and operations)
AI Risk Taxonomy For Audits And Controls (AI risk classification)
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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June 16, 2025 | NCFA Resource | Risk Compliance And Regtech, Artificial Intelligence And Data, Regulation And Policy

On May 25, 2026, the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) published its Supervisory Toolkit for Artificial Intelligence Use in Capital Markets. The report provides practical tools for regulators supervising AI systems used by market participants, exchanges, investment firms, and capital market infrastructure providers.
The toolkit arrives as AI goes beyond experimentation and into production environments across trading, surveillance, compliance, onboarding, fraud detection, customer service, research, risk management, and operational workflows. IOSCO focuses on the supervisory questions regulators need to ask rather than promoting a specific technology approach.
Stakeholder Input Opportunity: IOSCO is also seeking feedback related to the toolkit and AI supervision in capital markets. Interested regulators, market participants, technology providers, academics, and industry stakeholders can review the report and submit responses to IOSCO by this short survey by June 26, 2026.
The report organizes supervision around seven areas. These include governance and accountability, model development and testing, data quality and management, monitoring and controls, outsourcing and third party providers, market conduct risks, and operational resilience.
Rather than prescribing rules, IOSCO provides supervisory questions, review approaches, and practical considerations that regulators can use when assessing AI systems operating in capital markets. The toolkit is designed to support risk based supervision while remaining flexible as technologies evolve.
The report also recognizes that AI risks often emerge from combinations of factors rather than a single model failure. Poor quality data, weak governance, limited oversight, inadequate testing, vendor dependencies, and insufficient monitoring can interact in ways that create market, operational, or investor protection concerns.
Many financial institutions are already deploying AI in regulated environments. The challenge is no longer whether AI will be used. The challenge is whether firms can demonstrate appropriate governance, explainability, oversight, and accountability once those systems affect clients, markets, or investment decisions.
For fintech operators, the toolkit offers a useful preview of the questions regulators may increasingly ask during examinations, supervisory reviews, audits, and risk assessments. Firms that build governance and controls into deployment processes early may face fewer compliance and operational challenges as expectations mature.
This resource is useful for securities regulators, exchanges, investment dealers, fintech founders, regtech providers, compliance teams, AI governance specialists, risk managers, and market infrastructure operators.
It is especially relevant for organizations using AI in trading, surveillance, onboarding, fraud detection, compliance monitoring, client communications, investment research, portfolio management, or operational decision making.
The strength of the toolkit is its practical orientation. It extends beyond high level AI principles and focuses on supervision, controls, accountability, and operational implementation. The framework can be applied across a wide range of AI use cases and organizational structures.
It also provides a common language that regulators and industry participants can use when discussing AI oversight. That consistency becomes increasingly important as firms operate across multiple jurisdictions with different regulatory approaches.
The toolkit does not create binding rules or regulatory obligations. IOSCO's role is to provide guidance and supervisory tools that member jurisdictions can adapt to their own legal and regulatory frameworks.
IOSCO Supervisory Toolkit For AI Use In Capital Markets (primary resource)
IOSCO Media Release (official announcement)
AI Agents Enter Governed Financial Workflows (AI governance and oversight)
Customer Due Diligence Controls For Fintechs (controls, monitoring, and accountability)
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Jun 14, 2026

Family-owned businesses across Canada offer a strong opportunity for entrepreneurs because many are already profitable, trusted locally, and ready for ownership transition. Instead of starting from zero, buyers can acquire an established business with customers, staff, systems, and reputation already in place, especially as more owners consider retirement or succession.
Family-owned businesses play an important role in Canada’s economy. They often operate in local communities for years or even decades, serving loyal customers and building strong reputations through consistent service and personal relationships. Many are owner-operated businesses where trust, reliability, and long-term commitment matter just as much as the products or services they provide.
For buyers, this creates a significant advantage. A family-owned company in Canada may already have an established customer base, experienced employees, dependable supplier relationships, equipment, and stable revenue. It may also benefit from a recognizable local brand and years of goodwill within the community. These are valuable assets that usually take considerable time and investment to develop from scratch.
For entrepreneurs researching acquisition opportunities, Canadian business for sale on Yescapo can be a useful starting point for finding established companies with existing operations, customer relationships, and market history. Instead of buying only physical assets, buyers gain access to business knowledge, working systems, and relationships that have often been built over generations.
This is particularly important in industries where reputation drives success. Local retailers, construction companies, restaurants, service providers, and manufacturing businesses often rely on repeat customers and word-of-mouth referrals. A well-established family business may therefore offer a competitive position that would be difficult and expensive for a new startup to achieve.
One of the biggest opportunities in Canadian family businesses comes from succession. Thousands of owners are approaching retirement after spending decades building successful companies, yet many do not have family members interested in continuing the business. Children may choose different careers, relocate, or simply prefer not to take on the responsibilities of ownership.
As a result, many profitable businesses enter the market despite having healthy financial performance and loyal customers. They are being sold not because they are struggling, but because the owner wants to retire, reduce day-to-day responsibilities, or ensure the company continues under new leadership.
For entrepreneurs, this creates a unique entry point into business ownership in Canada. Buying a family-owned business with established operations can provide immediate access to customers, revenue, trained staff, and existing systems while avoiding many of the challenges involved in launching a company from zero.
Understanding the seller’s motivation is an important part of the process. In succession transactions, owners often care deeply about preserving the company’s reputation, protecting employees, and maintaining relationships with long-standing customers and suppliers. Buyers who respect that legacy and present a clear plan for the future may find it easier to negotiate a successful acquisition and ensure a smoother transition after the sale.
Starting a new company usually means building everything from the ground up. The founder must test demand, find customers, create systems, hire staff, develop supplier relationships, and survive the early stage when cash flow is uncertain.
Buying a family business in Canada offers a different path. The buyer can study real financial records, customer history, contracts, equipment, employee structure, and market position before making a decision. This makes the process more practical and less based on assumptions.
A startup may offer full creative freedom, but it also carries higher uncertainty. A family business may come with older systems or traditional ways of working, but it also provides an existing customer base and proven business model.
For many buyers, the question is simple: why build market trust from zero when an established business for sale in Canada may already have it?
Family businesses are often attractive because they are built around long-term relationships. Many have repeat customers, local recognition, supplier trust, and employees who understand the business well. This can make the transition easier for a new owner.
Another advantage is stability. Many Canadian family businesses operate in practical sectors such as trades, retail, food, manufacturing, distribution, professional services, hospitality, and local services. These businesses often solve everyday needs rather than depend on trends.
A buyer may also find hidden growth potential. Some family businesses are profitable but underdeveloped digitally. They may have weak websites, limited social media, no online booking, outdated branding, or little paid advertising. A new owner can modernize the business without changing its core.
This is why many investors search for profitable businesses for sale Canada listings. They want companies that already work, but still have room to grow.
Family-owned businesses can be found across many industries and provinces. Some operate in large cities such as Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, and Ottawa. Others are based in smaller communities where local trust is especially important.
Common examples include restaurants, cafés, bakeries, convenience stores for sale, construction companies, repair shops, cleaning businesses, accounting firms, dental or wellness clinics, manufacturing companies, logistics businesses, landscaping companies, and specialty retail stores.
Buyers often look for businesses that are simple to understand and have steady demand. A local business for sale Canada opportunity may be attractive if it has repeat customers, reliable employees, clean financial records, and clear room for improvement.
Businesses with recurring revenue can be especially valuable. Examples include maintenance companies, B2B services, subscription-based services, commercial cleaning, bookkeeping, and companies with long-term contracts.
Retiring business owners are one of the main reasons family business transition is becoming important in Canada. Many owners have strong companies but no clear successor. They may be ready to step back, but they do not want the business to disappear.
This can create a more flexible acquisition process. Some sellers may agree to stay involved during a transition period, introduce the buyer to customers and suppliers, and train the new owner. This helps protect business continuity.
For buyers, this is valuable because the seller’s knowledge is often one of the most important assets in a family business. Understanding customer relationships, staff dynamics, supplier terms, and daily operations can reduce risk after the sale.
A good transition plan can make the difference between a smooth acquisition and a difficult one. The best deals usually include clear handover support, communication with employees, and a plan for preserving customer trust.
Before buying a family-owned business, due diligence is essential. The buyer should review financial statements, tax records, revenue trends, profit margins, debts, leases, supplier agreements, employee contracts, equipment, inventory, licences, customer concentration, and legal issues.
It is also important to understand how dependent the business is on the current owner. Some family businesses rely heavily on the founder’s personal relationships. If customers only trust the owner, revenue may fall after the sale unless the transition is handled carefully.
A buyer should also check whether family members work in the business and what will happen after the acquisition. Staff roles, responsibilities, salaries, and expectations should be clear before the deal is completed.
Buying an established business in Canada can be a strong opportunity, but only if the buyer understands the real numbers, the risks, and the operational structure.
Many family businesses have strong foundations but outdated systems. A new owner can often grow the company by improving marketing, technology, pricing, customer service, and operations.
For example, a local service company may have loyal customers but no strong online presence. A buyer could improve the website, SEO, Google Business Profile, paid ads, online reviews, and booking systems. These changes can increase leads without changing the core service.
A retail business might benefit from e-commerce, better inventory management, updated branding, or stronger social media. A B2B company could grow by improving sales processes, customer follow-up, and recurring contracts.
The opportunity is not always about changing the business completely. Often, it is about keeping what works and modernizing what holds the company back.
Many buyers assume they need the full purchase price in cash, but business acquisition Canada deals can be structured in several ways. Buyers may use personal savings, bank financing, investor capital, seller financing, or a combination of these.
Seller financing can be especially relevant in family business succession. This means the seller allows the buyer to pay part of the price over time. It may help the buyer complete the deal and give the seller confidence that the new owner is committed to the business.
Some deals also include an earn-out, where part of the final payment depends on future performance. This can be useful when the seller and buyer need to bridge a valuation gap.
Clean financial records make financing easier. A profitable small business Canada opportunity with strong documentation is usually more attractive to lenders and investors than a business with unclear accounts.
Family businesses can be excellent acquisitions, but they are not risk-free. Some may have outdated systems, informal agreements, weak financial reporting, or operations that depend too much on the founder.
There may also be emotional complexity. A family business is often personal to the seller. Decisions about employees, branding, customers, and legacy may matter deeply. Buyers need to handle the process with respect and clarity.
Another risk is hidden underinvestment. Some owners delay upgrades before selling. Equipment, premises, technology, or staffing may need improvement after acquisition. Buyers should factor these costs into the purchase price.
The best approach is practical: verify the numbers, understand the people, check the contracts, and plan the transition carefully.
Buying a family-owned business in Canada can be a strong strategy for entrepreneurs who want an established company rather than a startup. It offers access to customers, revenue, staff, systems, and local reputation from the beginning.
This strategy is especially attractive for buyers who are good at operations, marketing, modernization, and relationship management. They can take a business that already works and make it stronger.
However, it is not the right path for everyone. Buyers need patience, due diligence, capital, and the ability to manage people and change. A family business may be established, but it still needs leadership.
For the right buyer, Canadian family businesses can offer one of the most practical routes into entrepreneurship through acquisition.
The hidden opportunity in family-owned businesses across Canada lies in the gap between retiring owners and entrepreneurs looking for established companies. Many of these businesses have customers, revenue, employees, reputation, and operational history already in place.
Instead of starting from zero, buyers can acquire a profitable local company and improve it through better marketing, stronger systems, digital tools, and modern management. The opportunity is not only to buy a business, but to continue its legacy and unlock its next stage of growth.
For entrepreneurs searching for Canadian business opportunities, family-owned businesses may be one of the most overlooked paths to ownership.
They often have loyal customers, local reputation, proven operations, trained employees, and steady revenue. This gives buyers a stronger starting point than launching a new company.
Business succession is the process of transferring ownership from the current owner to a new owner. In family businesses, this often happens when the founder retires or no family member wants to take over.
Buying can be better if the buyer wants existing customers, cash flow, and a proven business model. Starting may be better for someone with a unique idea or limited acquisition capital.
You should check financial records, tax documents, debts, leases, supplier agreements, employee contracts, customer concentration, licences, equipment, and how dependent the business is on the current owner.
Yes. Buyers may use personal funds, bank loans, investor capital, seller financing, or earn-out structures. Clean financial records usually make financing easier.
Common examples include restaurants, cafés, retail stores, construction companies, cleaning businesses, clinics, manufacturing companies, repair shops, logistics businesses, and local service companies.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Jun 9, 2026 | NCFA Resource | Capital Formation And Crowdfunding

Crowdfund Capital Advisors launched the CCA Crowdfinance Indices, a family of daily benchmarks for the U.S. Regulation Crowdfunding market. The resource tracks more than dollars raised. It measures capital, investor participation, and issuer breadth so founders, investors, platforms, and policymakers can see whether market activity is broadening, concentrating, or cooling.
The data is U.S. specific, but the measurement framework travels. Canada and other jurisdictions can use the same lens to think more clearly about crowdfunding market health, capital access, investor activity, and whether opportunity reaches a wider base of companies.
The indices separate investment crowdfunding activity into three useful indicators.
That breakdown matters because capital raised alone can hide what is really happening. A market can show higher capital while fewer companies receive funding. It can also show more investor activity while average checks get smaller. CCA’s framework helps users see the drivers behind the headline number.
CCA says the indices draw from its CCLEAR data platform and cover activity across leading U.S. intermediaries. The dashboard also includes sector views across technology, healthcare and life sciences, food and beverage, consumer and retail, fintech and financial, energy and cleantech, and real estate and construction.
CCA reports that issuers tracked by the Composite have raised nearly $3.1B across more than 9,000 companies. That makes the index family useful as a market reference, not just a launch announcement.
This resource is useful for crowdfunding platforms, founders, angel investors, policy teams, researchers, ecosystem builders, securities regulators, funding portals, and capital formation advocates.
It is especially useful for anyone trying to understand whether investment crowdfunding is becoming a deeper market, a more concentrated market, or a broader channel for startup and small business finance.
The strength of this resource is its market structure lens. It turns crowdfunding activity into a more useful set of indicators. Capital shows money flow. Participation shows investor engagement. Breadth shows issuer access.
The limit is geography. The indices measure U.S. Reg CF activity. They don't measure Canadian crowdfunding activity or global crowdfunding flows. Canadian readers should use the resource as a benchmark for comparison and market design, not as a proxy for Canada.
That distinction makes the resource more valuable, not less. It shows what better market intelligence could look like in other jurisdictions where crowdfunding data remains fragmented, delayed, or hard to compare.
CCA Crowdfinance Indices Dashboard (primary dashboard)
Reg CF At 10 Shows Equity Crowdfunding Works (cap modernization context)
Fintech Fridays EP57: Equity Crowdfunding 10 Years After Jobs Act (investment crowdfunding history)
UK Crowdfunding Caps Lift As EU Pushes €12M (global cap comparison)
National Instrument 45-110 (Canadian startup crowdfunding rules)
SEC Regulation Crowdfunding (U.S. Reg CF overview)
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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