Local entrepreneurs to benefit from $3.5 million program by federal government

High-potential start-up businesses in Southwestern Ontario are about to get a financial boost from the federal government.

Members of Parliament Peter Fragiskatos and Arielle Kayabaga visited TechAlliance of Southwestern Ontario announce an investment of $3.5 million to launch Polaris.

Polaris is a program which will assist over 115 high-potential firms build a foundation and or grow their business with $10,000.

“It will allow us to have access to things that we wouldn’t otherwise be able to purchase like large scale equipment,” said Reagan Michiels, co-founder of Easy Snack, a local business which makes ready-to-eat healthy snacks.

“We can improve our production time as well as investing in some things like sustainable packaging that we wouldn’t otherwise be able to invest in at this early stage.”

Fragiskatos was acting on behalf of MP Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.

He told CTV the $3.5 million will give businesses like Easy Snack and others a bit of a push.

“What we’re doing is helping them go from ideas to impact, making sure that they scale up and grow and employ more and more people,” said Fragiskatos.

“Emerging businesses that are getting off the ground and need that kind of mentorship, support, that kind of training, all of those vital things that helps new entrepreneurs understand what they have to do to succeed. That’s where TechAlliance comes in. They’re going to be doing that training.”

TechAlliance is having a big week. Just days ago they hosted more than 100 entrepreneurs at the Techstars Startup Weekend.

“This is a moonshot moment for southwestern Ontario’s innovation corridor,” said Christina Fox, CEO of TechAlliance.

“Polaris is an investment and a declaration of our ongoing commitment to a connected, powerful, and globally competitive region. FedDev Ontario funding will unlock and maximize unparalleled economic opportunities and forge sustainable growth for Canadian startups and hypergrowth scale-ups who choose to build in the greater London area. We continue to foster a robust and vibrant region where every entrepreneur has the resources to master their north star capacity in one of Canada’s top tech ecosystems.”

Fragiskatos and FedDev believe they can hit a homerun with this Polaris program.

“The potential here is enormous because you only need a few to succeed,” he said.

“We’ll be monitoring their progress, but if only a few succeed, we’re talking about potentially hundreds of jobs being added to the community. Take an example like Infotech – which was in the room today – started with an idea and is now employing in London alone in excess of 400 people. That’s just one success story. So, I’m very encouraged by what I see, and that’s why we invested today.”

The money will be distributed over three years to TechAlliance, who will distribute the funds.

“All the money counts,” said Michiels.

“Anything that we can use towards to grow our business and really help to get Easy Snack to more customers and to more people to help actually give vegetables and fruits to everyone.”