Southern Ontario Spotlight - March 2022

The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada (APF Canada) is a leading not-for-profit organization focused on Canada’s relations with Asia, and has worked with some of the country’s brightest women entrepreneurs to accelerate the global adoption of their products and technologies, yet women often face barriers that challenge their ability to succeed. Through a 2019 Government of Canada investment of over $2 million through the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES) Ecosystem Fund, the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada (APF Canada) is helping address these challenges by providing direct support to 100 women-led companies and indirect support for an additional 500 companies to enter and grow in Asian markets.

One recipient of this APF Canada support is WeavAir, a software & hardware solution for air distribution systems. Led by Founder and CEO, Natalia Mykhaylova, the company saw an opportunity to use its knowledge in the HVAC industry to improve its air quality systems technology to better eliminate organic pollutants, such as those found in viruses and bacteria. Support from APF Canada allowed WeavAir to enter the South Korean market, where its innovative air filtration solution can now be found across Seoul’s metropolitan subway system (which sees more than one billion commuters annually).

Read FedDev Ontario’s success story, for more information on APF Canada and WeavAir.

Toronto-based Elizabeth Fry Society provides marginalized women, including existing entrepreneurs and those who have struggled with mental health issues or had legal conflicts, with the tools and support required to launch their own viable businesses. The not-for-profit has been helping women in the region build the confidence, knowledge and capital needed to realize their dreams through its five-month My Start-Up entrepreneur training program. Through the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES) Ecosystem Fund, FedDev Ontario provided Elizabeth Fry Toronto with over $1 million to support My Start-Up, enabling the organization to move its programming online and develop new tools to improve the program’s workshops.

One participant in the My Start-Up program, Alethia Cadore is a registered psychotherapist and provides counselling services primarily to racially marginalized individuals. Elizabeth Fry’s My Start-Up program gave Alethia the tools that she needed to launch her counselling business, including market and customer research, business models and design, and establishing pricing, as well as opportunities to benefit from mentorship, networking and webinars and workshops.

Another program graduate, Dr. Rebecca Finlason-Harper, Founder and CEO of The Family Civility Institute, was able to make her idea of offering family intervention training to community workers in vulnerable populations a reality. Taking part in the My Start-Up Program provided Rebecca with valuable advice on developing the organizational language used to create The Family Civility Institute. She also learned how to pivot when the pandemic forced her to revaluate her original goals.

For more information on Elizabeth Fry and the Family Civility Institute, read FedDev Ontario’s success story.

During the pandemic, the Government of Canada through FedDev Ontario has been delivering vital support for tourism businesses in southern Ontario, providing targeted funding to help businesses and organizations adapt their operations to meet public health requirements and invest in products and services to facilitate their future growth.

An example is IWA Spa in the Blue Mountains. With support through FedDev Ontario, IWA Spa was able to obtain PPE for staff and guests and install measures to support social distancing, such as directional signage, enabling the spa to reopen in a safe manner once restrictions were lifted.

Another example is Ottawa’s white water rafting attraction OWL Rafting, whose customer capacity on the river was reduced by 60 percent. With the support received through FedDev Ontario, delivered by Ontario’s Highlands Tourism Organization, OWL Rafting was able to modify operations to expand the guest experience, including the addition of Café OWL.

“Without the funding we received from Ontario’s Highlands Tourism Organization through FedDev Ontario, Café OWL simply would not have been possible. We appreciate the support made available to our seasonal rural business during such a difficult time and we are looking forward to offering our expanded experience to our guests this summer.”

- Claudia Van Wijk, owner, OWL Rafting on the Ottawa River

Tourism Relief Fund support for tourism businesses will empower these companies to create new experiences and products to attract more visitors, and helps the sector reposition itself to provide the best Canadian tourism experiences we have to offer. For more information, visit FedDev Ontario’s Tourism Relief Fund page.

Toronto-based CaribbeanTales, a women-led charity organization dedicated to supporting and strengthening diversity and representation in the Canadian film industry, recently announced the first cohort of its CaribbeanTales Black Incubator and Studio Access Project (CTBISAP), an project that will provide mentorship and training opportunities to Black Canadian filmmakers. Participants will engage in training modules focused on project development, production, and distribution, led by CaribbeanTales staff and its network of mentors.

“CaribbeanTales’ mission is to create new programs to lift up and support Black Canadian filmmakers, helping them reach their full potential. Our Black Incubator & Studio Access project is one of those programs. Thank you to the Canadian Government’s Black Entrepreneurship Program Ecosystem Fund for the timely support of these programs.”

- Frances-Anne Solomon CTMG founder and CEO

In 2021, the Government of Canada provided CaribbeanTales with $648,000 in funding through the Black Entrepreneurship Program Ecosystem Fund to expand the CBISAP in order to support the growth of emerging Black film and television producers and creators in the mainstream media industry.