Southern Ontario Spotlight - December 2018

TechAlliance of Southwestern Ontario recently celebrated the successes of the dedicated entrepreneurs supported through BURST, its incubation program. At the November 15 showcase event in London, FedDev Ontario announced an additional $440,000 to provide more early-stage, high-potential med-tech companies with seed funding, mentorship and other crucial support.

FedDev Ontario previously contributed $1.32 million to launch BURST. Since then, the program has worked with 30 companies over three cohorts, attracting more than $5 million in additional investment. The London Medical Network is also a key partner, providing matching seed funding for participants. Visit the BURST website to learn more about the life science companies supported through the program.

FedDev Ontario’s presence at this year’s Best Defence conference has been lauded with helping to increase participation and add significant value to the two-day event. The Agency’s Industrial and Technological Benefits (ITB) team organized a large pavilion to host two panel presentations, a supplier development workshop, two speed networking sessions and a speed mentoring event.

Members of the ITB team attracted global defence contractors and companies to the event—most of whom participated in the networking events. Several meetings resulted in defence contractors scheduling local site visits, providing additional opportunity to promote the region’s solid industrial and technological capabilities.

Since the launch of the Accelerated Growth Service (AGS) in 2016, FedDev Ontario has worked with more than 150 innovative southern Ontario companies in various sectors to accelerate their growth and increase productivity and global competitiveness. Chris Loranger, CEO of Plexxis, a construction estimating software company in Brampton, benefitted from FedDev Ontario and other AGS partners’ support through growth planning, quick access to financing and referrals to complementary companies—all of which have helped the company grow. 

AGS targets companies with a history of growth, annual revenues of $5 million or more and a focus on export markets. Companies receive access to government services to help accelerate growth, including financing and exporting, innovation and business advice. Contact us to find out more.

The Honourable Navdeep Bains recently announced that the Government of Canada is investing $24 million in groundbreaking wearable technology developed by Kitchener’s North Inc. The company, formerly known as Thalmic Labs, recently unveiled Focals—smart and fashionable eyewear that features cutting-edge technology. North Inc. is already responsible for 300 patents. This investment, through the Strategic Innovation Fund, supports the type of research and next generation product development Canada needs to compete globally and create good jobs. North Inc. is now taking orders at two retail outlets and will be manufacturing the custom-built glasses at its facility in Waterloo. FedDev Ontario supported Thalmic Labs through a University of Waterloo program for start-ups.