Two businesses in the Eastern Townships are receiving a collective $6 million from the federal government through Canada’s economic development program for Quebec regions. The funding, which has been granted to the Accélérateur de création d’entreprises technologiques (ACET) in Sherbrooke and the MiQro Innovation Collaborative Centre (C2MI) in Bromont, is a part of $16,425,487 given out through the program to help boost innovation through 46 different projects across the province.
“Across the country, technology is transforming traditional industries, business development and the way we collaborate,” said Mélanie Joly, the Federal Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages, in making the announcement on Monday morning. “Helping businesses to innovate so they can enhance their competitiveness and create good-quality jobs has been at the heart of our priorities for many years now. “
Élisabeth Brière, Member of Parliament for Sherbrooke and Parliamentary Secretary to Joly said that in both cases the money is to be used to help improve the service offering of the businesses in question. She noted that particularly in the case of ACET, the investment stands to go even further because of that company’s work in supporting up-and-coming start-ups.
“The Government of Canada is committed to stimulating innovation to enhance the long-term productivity and competitiveness of businesses and organizations,” she said, adding that the announcement was a particularly positive one for her, as she can count it as a campaign promise fulfilled.
The C2MI project has received $1 million for the purchase and installation of advanced manufacturing equipment to reduce the environmental impact of its development processes.
The $5 million received by ACET is shared with the Montreal-based Centre de l’entrepreneurship technologique de l’ETS (Centech) as well as two other incubators, CTS Santé and Zú. The collaborative project is aimed at giving high-potential start-ups a hand in growing their business, particularly in international markets.
On a whole, this new funding is being channeled towards technology companies that have seen new opportunities arise during the COVID-19 pandemic.
