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Government Of Canada Supports Innovative Young Entrepreneurs In Southern Ontario

Canadian Youth Business Foundation [1]A new investment of up to $626,000 from the Government of Canada will allow the Canadian Youth Business Foundation [1] (CYBF) to provide entrepreneurship training for up to 225 young entrepreneurs and seed funding to help launch up to 12 new innovative businesses in southern Ontario. The investment was announced today by the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario [2]).

“Our Government’s top priority is creating jobs, growth and long-term prosperity,” said Minister Goodyear. “This investment will support the Canadian Youth Business Foundation in helping science and technology entrepreneurs to develop their business and management skills and launch innovative start-up companies, for the benefit of all of southern Ontario.”

The project is receiving a joint investment from FedDev Ontario and the National Research Council of Canada (NRC). The Agency is investing up to $378,000 through its Scientists and Engineers in Business initiative to help entrepreneurs launch their businesses, while the NRC, through the Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP [3]), is providing up to $248,000 to help entrepreneurs engage with customers early in the innovation life cycle.

“This pilot project is designed to bring technology-based firms in contact with target clients as early as possible in the innovation process and thus increase the likelihood of commercial success,” said Bogdan Ciobanu, Vice President of NRC-IRAP.

Under the project, the CYBF will focus on assisting recently displaced science, technology, engineering and mathematics employees to acquire entrepreneurial skills and seed funding needed to start an innovative company.

The Canadian Youth Business Foundation is a national non-profit organization dedicated to growing Canada’s economy through developing young entrepreneurs. The organization has invested in more than 5,600 young entrepreneurs, whose businesses have created more than 23,000 new jobs, and generated $164 million in tax revenue. The CYBF delivers its program through a national network of 185 community partners and more than 4,000 volunteers including business mentors.

“We are grateful for the support of FedDev Ontario and NRC-IRAP for the launch of this initiative,” said Julia Deans, CEO, Canadian Youth Business Foundation. “This partnership, along with curriculum from Dr. Alex Bruton’s The Innographer’s DIY Innovation Toolkit™, will provide individuals with the skills and support they need to integrate innovative thinking into their own entrepreneurial ventures.”

Scientists and Engineers in Business, one of FedDev Ontario’s Southern Ontario Advantage initiatives, aims to improve the success rate of start-up businesses in southern Ontario by developing business skills of entrepreneurs in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math, and providing targeted support to help them bring innovative ideas and products to market.

To date, over $420 million in funding has been committed to over 240 projects under the Southern Ontario Advantage initiatives, resulting in partnerships with more than 5,000 organizations, and over $1.2 billion in additional leveraged investments from almost exclusively non-government sources.

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1 Comment To "Government Of Canada Supports Innovative Young Entrepreneurs In Southern Ontario"

#1 Comment By Tami Quiring (@VillageGamer) On Wednesday September 18, 2013 @ 6:57 am

Government Of Canada Supports Innovative @CYBFOntario Entrepreneurs In Southern Ontario [8] #startup