North Bay, ON - Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario - FedNor
The Government of Canada, through FedNor, is investing in technology to help large and small businesses become more innovative, competitive and successful, contributing to growth and the creation of quality jobs in Northern Ontario.
Today, the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Indigenous Services and Minister responsible for FedNor, announced a Government of Canada investment of $3,218,500 to support four initiatives led by Innovation Initiatives Ontario North (IION) and Canadore College that will support regional innovation, create jobs, and strengthen the economy of Northeastern Ontario.
Of the total, IION will receive close to $2.5 million to implement three strategic initiatives:
· $1.1 million under the Jobs and Growth Fund (JGF) to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) increase commercialization and boost productivity through the existing Step Forward Entrepreneurs Program (SFEP). The program provides up to $10,000 in non-repayable funding to qualifying businesses for sales and marketing, product development, or business enhancement initiatives. SFEP is expected to help 80 companies create 60 jobs and maintain 105 more;
· $925,000 in JGF funding to build on its IION-Research and Prototyping in Development (iRAPID) initiative by helping up to 75 businesses accelerate commercialization activities for innovative companies that require assistance for a specific research and development (R&D) project. iRAPID will assist companies develop locally-made products, processes or services and encourage "Made in Canada" solutions. Up to 45 new jobs are expected to be created with an additional 80 maintained; and
· $473,500 JGF funding to support businesses increase their productivity and competitiveness while accelerating commercialization by implementing phase three of the Skills Development Placement Program (SDPP). The SDPP provides qualified workers with a 16-week work placement and matches them with innovative companies to gain hands-on experiences and develop transferable skills in a risk-free environment. Over a 3-year period, it is expected that the SDPP will create 40 full-time contract positions and maintain another 60 jobs.
In addition, as part of the announcement, Canadore College will receive FedNor funding of $750,000 through the Regional Growth Through Innovation Fund to implement the Responsive Innovation 4.0 (RI 4.0) initiative which will enhance the regional innovation ecosystem and support critical applied research needs. The initiative will meet the innovation needs of Northern Ontario businesses and organizations by increasing their capacity for scale-up and product development. Canadore's Innovation Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Prototyping (ICAMP) is undertaking up to 30 individual research projects to help develop and commercialize new or modified products, processes, services or technologies and bring these new products to market. The initiative is expected to create 65 new jobs and maintain 60 others.
