SeekCapital invested in Textbookrental.ca, an innovative venture that lends out textbooks to students in Canadian colleges and universities.

The company announcement said that the seed capital amounted to CAD $415,000. The funds will be used to expand the business to other schools, as well as bolster its position as a leader in textbook rental industry.

To date, the company is already present in 15 schools, which include Fanshawe College, George Brown College and Dalhousie University.

Although the company is relatively new in Canada, the practice of renting out textbooks to college and university students has found much success in the US. In fact, US companies like Campusbookrentals, Bookrenter and Chegg reported a combined half a billion dollars in income.

Textbookrental CEO Brandon Luft said that the popularity of online shopping has created awareness for students to take a closer look at the alternative of getting access to textbooks.

"Instead of just looking at the bookstore, students look at textbook rental sites such as ours, in addition to online marketplaces, to save huge amounts of money compared to full retail," he said.