New entrepreneurs in southern Ontario will benefit from an investment of up to $4.84 million in Bioenterprise Corporation announced today by Lloyd Longfield, Member of Parliament for Guelph, on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for FedDev Ontario.
Businesses need the right resources to grow, innovate and export so that they can create good quality jobs and wealth for Canadians. This joint initiative, between Bioenterprise Corporation and Innovation Guelph, will provide entrepreneurs and early-stage businesses with seed funding, access to specialized industry expertise and business coaching. These resources will help companies develop and commercialize new products and, as a result, will help build a strong and diversified southern Ontario economy.
Funding will be geared towards supporting entrepreneurs in the agriculture and agri-food technologies, sustainable and environmental technologies, advanced manufacturing, and social innovation industries.
Quick Facts
- Bioenterprise Corporation is a not-for-profit business accelerator founded in 2002 with core funding provided by federal-provincial funding initiatives through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
- This project, with a total cost of $8.14 million, is expected to help 110 early stage companies, create 230 full-time jobs, maintain 500 jobs and strengthen economic development partners in the Guelph-Wellington region. The project is also expected to leverage $3.3 million in private-sector seed funding.
- In 2013, Bioenterprise Corporation received $367,500 from FedDev Ontario to support 13 entrepreneurial post-secondary Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) graduates in commercializing new products and prepare their businesses for market entry.
“We work with hundreds of companies in southern Ontario, all of which focus on bringing agricultural innovations to market. The support from FedDev Ontario will help companies to gain access to expert mentorship and support services crucial for long-term growth and sustainable development,” says Dave Smardon, President & CEO of Bioenterprise Corporation.
