Through the Investing in Business Innovation initiative, the Harper Government is providing the Waterloo Accelerator Centre with an investment of up to $8 million to extend and expand its AC JumpStart Program. The Waterloo Accelerator Centre is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to building and commercializing technology start-ups.
Funding is geared at companies looking to refine their business models and expand their customer base. Each AC JumpStart recipient will receive:
- Up to $30,000 in seed financing;
- Up to $10,000 in mentoring, market research and validation, and introductions to investors;
- Up to 10% in administration costs.
The AC JumpStart expansion includes Conestoga College, the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University as new delivery partners. Other project collaborators include Communitech and the Canadian Innovation Centre, which will provide expertise to AC JumpStart companies.
There will be up to nine intakes, and up to 45 companies will be supported by the partners each year.
Further details are available on the AC JumpStart website.
The new funding for AC JumpStart is expected to help 180 high-potential businesses grow, which will result in the creation of an estimated 700 jobs. This will help diversify businesses in the region by boosting technology companies in fields like cloud computing, green energy and eCommerce.
AC Jumpstart was piloted with a FedDev Ontario investment of $945,000 in 2012-13. This allowed 30 entrepreneurs to commercialize new products and develop new businesses. The pilot created 212 jobs, generated $3.1 million in revenues and is expected to attract $5 million in investment.
The Investing in Business Innovation (IBI) initiative aims to strengthen the innovation ecosystem in southern Ontario. It helps new entrepreneurs to become investment-ready through seed financing and skills development. It helps early-stage businesses with a minimum viable product or service to further develop and bring it to market.
It helps angel organizations to expand their members and services, which increases private sector investment and mentoring opportunities for businesses. All of these activities will help build a portfolio of early-stage businesses with the ability to become world-leading innovators.
Funding is available for:
- Not-for-profit organizations that provide skills development and seed financing to new entrepreneurs;
- Innovative, early-stage businesses with less than 50 employees to help leverage angel and capital investments; and
- Southern Ontario-based angel investor networks.
Applications are being accepted and assessed on an ongoing basis. Eligibility requirements and further details are available on the FedDev Ontario website.
