In a second round of investment, Startup Canada announced two more recipients of the Startup Canada Community Investment Fund, which invests in high-impact, entrepreneur-driven initiatives that connect and strengthen local startup communities across Canada.
The two recipients received funding to run a series of events that would bring its local businesses and startup founders closer. Startup Halifax received funding for industry-specific pitching and networking events encouraging local businesses to be early adopters, supporters, and advisors to early-stage entrepreneurs. “Startup Halifax conducted a major survey of entrepreneurs in the region to determine what they felt they needed most in terms of support, and this grant will permit us to address their number one priority, which will stimulate the growth of the startup ecosystem in Nova Scotia,” said John Hamblin, community lead at Startup Halifax.
Startup Smithers received funding to run a series of events introducing community members to coding and simple app building tools. “We are looking forward to growing the level of app and coding knowledge in Smithers. This event would not be possible without the support of such inclusive, supportive, entrepreneurs in our community and across the country,” said Allan Stroet, community lead at Startup Smithers.
Victoria Lennox, CEO of Startup Canada, said that the Community Investment Fund, which was launched in spring 2015, helps kickstart initiatives that speak to each Canadian community’s unique needs. “Each region of Canada has unique economic, environmental, and cultural traits that can be leveraged to make it a launch pad for high impact startups and a landing pad for investment,” said Lennox. “With investment from the Startup Canada Community Investment Fund, Smithers and Halifax are optimizing strengths and filling gaps to build a cohesive, active startup ecosystem that makes their communities great places to start, scale and anchor companies.”