Business startups could be in luck

By Sandi Krasowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Ontario has put an additional $6 million in Futurpreneur, making it easier for nearly 1,000 entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 39 to start and grow businesses across the province.

The money boost is part of the province’s overall plan to protect Ontario, supporting more than 3,800 future jobs and helping drive economic growth and competitiveness.Futurpreneur is a national not-for-profit organization that is one of the Northwestern Ontario Innovation Centre’s key funding organizations. It connects aspiring business owners with collateral-free loans of up to $75,000, and two years of mentorship and business resources.

The Futurpreneur funding will provide access to financing, one-on-one mentorship, networking opportunities and business planning tools to grow businesses and create jobs.

Richard Gemmill, the Innovation Centre executive director, said Futurpreneur has been a great partner for the centre and compared the organization to the calibre of the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario, the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation, and the Angel Network.“They’re all amazing funders, and Futurpreneur is one of them,” he said.

“When Futurpreneur gets access to funding, we scratch each other’s backs to advance opportunities for entrepreneurs here in Northwestern Ontario.”Gemmell says that when funding organizations receive government support, it opens up more conversations for when clients come through the centre’s doors seeking opportunities to advance.

The centre has its own “envelopes of money,” he says, but it doesn’t apply to everyone, because there are various stages. What this added money will do for Futurpreneur, and also for Northwestern Ontario’s innovation ecosystem, is provide more access to early startup money, he said.

Plans are in the works at the Innovation Centre to host an event that provides access points for young entrepreneurs who are looking for funding.

“We have our core funding partners that we work with, and in close to 26 or 27 years that the organization has been in existence, we’ve been able to partner and work with a number of different funding agents,” he said.

“We never shut a door. We always look for different ways that we can support the ecosystem up here.”