Applications now open for Cohort 2 of Government of Canada-funded i.d.e.a. Fund™
Windsor, ON (March 27, 2023) – Building on the momentum of the inaugural i.d.e.a. Fund cohort, applications for Cohort 2 are now open; paving the way for a new group of forward-thinking companies looking to commercialize innovative technologies that will help continue Canada’s transition to a green economy.

The i.d.e.a. Fund is a southern Ontario-focused initiative that helps clean growth firms unlock their potential and access the capital and mentoring needed to develop or redesign green products, services, processes and technologies that reduce environmental impacts and create made-in-Canada climate change solutions.

The program fosters inclusion and diversity, with a focus on a green economic recovery. Supported by a $10-million Government of Canada investment through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), the i.d.e.a. Fund is being delivered by six Regional Innovation Centres (RICs): Innovation Guelph, Haltech, Innovate Niagara, Innovation Factory, TechAlliance of Southwestern Ontario, and WEtech Alliance.
Through the program, each RIC is able to distribute a maximum of $30,000 in matching seed funding to select innovative businesses in various sectors including medtech, agritech, social enterprise, advanced manufacturing and more.

“Business owners in southern Ontario are making incredible strides to promote green products and build a clean economy. The i.d.e.a. Fund is helping them achieve their goals and get to where they need to be through financial and advisory support,” said the Honourable Filomena Tassi, Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario. “Our government is happy to work with projects like this to ensure people across the province are able to reach their potential, create good jobs, and grow the economy.”
 
Through cohort one of the Government of Canada-supported i.d.e.a Fund, which launched in August 2022, 19 WEtech Alliance-supported companies received non-repayable contributions of $567,700.
 
Applications for Cohort 2 of the i.d.e.a. Fund are open now, until April 17, 2023. For additional details and eligibility criteria, visit www.wetech-alliance.com/idea.
Quick Facts
  • Across southern Ontario, 117 companies received non-repayable contributions of $3,500,000 in Cohort 1.
  • Fifty percent of the businesses receiving support through the fund will be owned or led by women and 30 percent owned or led by Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, Black communities, racialized communities and members of the LGBTQ2+ community.
 
Associated Links
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Media Contact:

Edward Hutchinson
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario

Adam Castle
Director of Venture Services
WEtech Alliance
226-246-0287
About FedDev Ontario
For 13 years, the Government of Canada, through FedDev Ontario, has worked to advance and diversify the southern Ontario economy through funding opportunities and business services that support innovation, growth and job creation in Canada’s most populous region. The Agency has delivered impressive results, which can be seen in southern Ontario businesses that are creating innovative technologies, improving productivity, growing revenues, creating jobs, and in the economic advancement of communities across the region. Learn more about the impacts the Agency is having in southern Ontario by exploring our pivotal projects, our Southern Ontario Spotlight, and FedDev Ontario’s Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
 
About WEtech Alliance
WEtech Alliance is one of seventeen Regional Innovation Centres, funded by the Province of Ontario, serving the Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent regions. They provide entrepreneurs with business services, training, mentorship and strategic connections to help bring new ideas to market, scale to the next level and build a dynamic culture and a community of innovation. WEtech Alliance has served as the catalyst for technology and innovation in the Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent regions since 2011. Learn more about WEtech Alliance by signing up for our Tech It Out newsletter, visiting our website, or by following us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.