TEC provides capital and strategic guidance to underserved but asset-rich companies that are on a continuum of change or transition. With its unique combination of tailored financing and value-added business expertise, the company empowers management teams to seize opportunities and achieve full growth potential.
TEC has made more than $4.5 billion in investments across a range of industries, including healthcare, technology, sustainability, traditional and alternative energy, mining, construction services, and transportation.
TEC believes in taking a practical perspective to business and investing that involves seeing challenges and opportunities through the eyes of a business owner. Arif Bhalwani has a depth of experience building and financing successful ventures, generating substantial returns in an array of markets and industries. He is able to identify and capture value in companies and situations where other investors did not see (or neglected to look for) the opportunities.
Arif Bhalwani believes a company’s most valuable assets often do not appear on the balance sheet. He helps businesses monetize hidden assets with financing that looks beyond numbers to see potential and opportunities far into the future.
Succeeding in business isn’t a simple task, even when ample capital is available. Increasing sales, managing costs, and retaining employees, all while trying to innovate and stay ahead of the competition, can be difficult endeavors. TEC provides a broad and talent-rich network to help companies reach their goals by deploying knowledge and resources that other lenders often don’t have.
TEC tailors its approach to fit the unique circumstances of each business. The company takes the time to understand both a company and its industry, in order to structure a specialized financing solution that provides the flexibility to achieve key performance milestones.
Making this happen requires the ability to execute quick decisions. Under Arif Bhalwani’s leadership, TEC solves financing problems with speed and energy so that a company can seize opportunities, eliminate threats, and achieve its ultimate potential.
Arif Bhalwani is also well-known as a co-founder of the Bhalwani Family Charitable Foundation, which is dedicated to improving the quality of life of children, immigrants, and other marginalized communities. The foundation’s support helped establish the Bhalwani Familial Cancer Clinic and the Bhalwani Family Compassionate Care Fund at Princess Margaret Hospital. These facilities provide needed access to genetic cancer screening and counseling.
Young Arif Bhalwani arrived in Canada as a refugee from Uganda and later Austria, where his family spent years in a refugee camp. They had lost everything as a result of being expelled from Uganda by a brutal dictator, and found themselves in a new country with little money. These years of adversity forged Arif Bhalwani’s character, strengthened his determination and guided his career.
He has always been a self-starter. From an early age, he has been perceptive in seeking opportunities, creating new businesses and filling a need in the market. One of these businesses was a personal computer services company that he founded as a teenager. Within several years, he had helped build and lead eight different small and medium sized companies.
After partnering with California-based venture firm Pinnacle Investments, Arif Bhalwani established Pinnacle Capital, along with an affiliate Pinnacle Credit, in Toronto in 1994. The firm made seed and early stage venture investments but also helped distressed and special situation companies access interim capital, credit support and trade financing. Under his direction, Arif Bhalwani helped a construction company based in Canada transform from near-bankruptcy into a business that was sold at a significant gain within three years.
Based on these experiences, Arif Bhalwani learned important lessons about managing a business – everything from recruiting a talented team to raising capital and thriving in the marketplace.
During this time, Arif Bhalwani also excelled academically, receiving a Master of Business Administration from the Smith School of Business from Queen’s University (Queen’s School of Business) and completing a postgraduate studie at Harvard Business School. He also earned a Chartered Financial Analyst designation.