HalTech Regional Innovation Centre, based in Burlington, Ont., will receive around $307,000 from the federal government to create an accelerator for women entrepreneurs.
“Today’s investment will help more of our women-owned and women-led businesses grow, innovate and export to new markets.”
The goal of the new accelerator at HalTech will be to help women entrepreneurs scale their businesses and reach new markets. The program will provide mentorship, skills training, and programming to help women grow their businesses. The government said final funding, which is being provided through the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES), is subject to negotiation of the contribution agreement with HalTech.
“The women entrepreneurs and business leaders of Burlington and southwestern Ontario make outstanding contributions to our economy and communities every day,” said Pam Damoff, member of parliament for Oakville North–Burlington. “Today’s investment by our government will create and support jobs in southern Ontario and help more of our women-owned and women-led businesses grow, innovate and export to new markets. These investments are good for our community, good for Ontario and good for Canada.”
HalTech offers free business advisory services, learning workshops on entrepreneurship and commercialization, and for assistance with corporate innovation programs. Its verticals of note include digital media, advanced manufacturing, cleantech, healthtech, FinTech, and EdTech. Haltech is a member of the Ontario Network of Entrepreneurs, a program that includes 17 Regional Innovation Centres.
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This women’s accelerator is not Haltech’s first initiative to support female entrepreneurship. HerHalton is HalTech’s peer-to-peer initiative for women who live and or work in the Halton Region. Members of HerHalton can empower each other through discussions, collaboration, and networking opportunities.
The government’s investment was made as part of the WES, which is looking to improve access to financing, talent, networks and expertise through an investment of nearly $2 billion. The goal of the strategy is to double the number of women-led or women-owned businesses by the year 2025. Today’s announcement was made by Mary Ng, minister of small business and export promotion, as part of a cumulative $507,000 investment through the WES, which included other organizations.
Image courtesy HalTech Regional Innovation Centre