New fund to offer business support and seed funding.
Boundless Accelerator, formerly known as Innovation Guelph, has launched a new cleantech fund aimed at supporting businesses developing clean technologies in southern Ontario.
The Southern Ontario Environmental Impact Fund (SOEIF) received a $5.2-million investment from the federal government Wednesday. The federal investment was made through FedDev Ontario, the regional development agency for southern Ontario.
The SOEIF will consist of two programs, including what the federal government described in a statement as a “revised cohort” of the i.d.e.a. Fund, as well as a new Sustainable Impact Program.
The i.d.e.a. Fund will offer companies access to business support and seed funding to develop or re-design green products, services, and technologies to reduce their environmental footprint.
Since its launch in 2022, the i.d.e.a. Fund claims to have supported approximately 245 businesses and helped to commercialize nearly 480 products. According to the i.d.e.a. Fund’s website, the program has already completed two cohorts and plans to accept 145 companies in its third and fourth cohorts.
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The i.d.e.a Fund will be co-delivered by Boundless Accelerator and five other regional innovation centres in the region, including Innovation Factory, Innovate Niagara, LaunchLab, TechAlliance of Southwestern Ontario, and WEtech Alliance. BetaKit reached out to the federal government for more information but did not receive details by press time.
The second component of the SOEIF is the soon-to-be-launched Sustainable Impact Program, which will see Boundless Accelerator work with partner organizations that are targeting innovations to reduce their environmental impact. This program is also aimed at supporting scale-ups with their commercialization activities and helping them become export and investor-ready.
“By working closely with our regional innovation centre and university partners, the i.d.e.a. Fund and the new Sustainable Impact Program will provide vital resources and support to businesses committed to making a positive environmental impact,” Alison Crumblehulme, CEO of Boundless Accelerator, said in a statement.
Featured image courtesy Unsplash. Photo by Colin Watts.