Innovation Funding

The federal government’s $20-million investment in innovation funds is welcome news for small- and medium-sized businesses in the Orillia area and across Simcoe County.

"Innovation is critical to creating high-value jobs and securing a prosperous future for southern Ontario communities," Gary Goodyear, Minister of State responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario),said in a press release. "(This) investment… will lead to new opportunities for small- and medium-sized businesses in the region, allowing them to grow, develop new products, services and technologies. This will diversify the economy, encourage greater innovation and create hundreds of jobs for southern Ontario."

Wendy Timpano, the general manager of the Orillia Area Community Development Corporation (CDC), agrees.

"It’s definitely great news because when it comes to expanding, entering new markets and innovating, it’s difficult to access capital," Timpano said. "If a business owner is unable to secure financing from traditional banks, they could come to us and if they do get a loan from us, they can leverage that in their application for innovation funds."

The $20-million is part of FedDev Ontario's Prosperity Initiative. This investment will support two funds, known as the Southern Ontario Fund for Investment in Innovation (SOFII) projects. SOFII will provide a $12-million fund in the west, which includes Simcoe County, and an $8-million fund in the east. These two funds will be delivered by the two regional Community Futures Development Corporation (CFDC) networks: the Western CFDC Association and the Eastern CFDC Network Inc. to both smaller rural and larger urban communities.

Timpano, who is affiliated with the Western CFDC Association, said the SOFII fund opens up an opportunity for small and medium-sized businesses to take their enterprise in an entirely new direction.

"One of the greatest benefits, in my mind, is that it will energize businesses to be innovative," said Timpano. "This is an opportunity to think outside the box and go down a path that you could only dream about if it wasn’t for these funds."

Under the SOFII project, businesses can apply for loans of $150,000 to $500,000. Interest in the funds is hot, said Rory Ring, the director of SOFII.

"There has been excellent (response to) the program so far with strong representation equally distributed among both urban and rural communities across the Western Ontario region," Ring said. "Several opportunities have emerged from Orillia, Barrie, and Simcoe County demonstrating a sound entrepreneurial spirit in the region."

Many might see the term innovation and think the fund is limited to the industrial sector. Not true, Ring says.

"Innovation is the creation of better or more effective products, processes, services, technologies, or ideas that are accepted by markets, governments, and society," Ring explained. "Innovation differs from invention in that innovation refers to the use of a new idea or method, whereas invention refers more directly to the creation of the idea or method itself."

While innovation is the key, equally important is job creation, Timpano noted.

"This program is about creating and maintaining jobs," said Timpano. "It’s about how can we help local businesses be competitive locally and globally. This fund can really help a business focus on these sorts of things."

The time to act is now, Timpano said. "This is a first-come, first-served fund. When the money’s gone, it’s gone," she said, while adding she hopes the program might be extended beyond its two-year mandate.

The CDC plays an important role in helping local businesses access SOFII funding, Ring said.

"It is crucial to have this support in every community and the success of SOFII is reliant on the contributions that these organizations make and the connectivity they provide to the entrepreneurial community," said Ring.

He said each application will be considered and regional advisory committees will be established to review applications.

"Businesses will be considered on a case-by-case basis, reviewing the opportunity they present to attract and retain people and investment, to produce an economic impact and to create jobs for their respective communities and Southern Ontario as a whole," Ring said.

Timpano said the CDC is more than willing to help local businesses who want to apply for funding.

"We offer funding that can be leveraged through this process, so that can be important," Timpano said. "But we also offer support in other ways. Maybe someone needs help with their business plan, or with the application… we’d love to see businesses from our area take advantage of this funding and we will help out in any way we can."

The application is web-based, Ring noted.

"All inquiries should be directed to wocfdca.ca and

, from there, they can follow the process which includes eligibility determination, pre-qualification and, potentially,the formal loan application," said Ring.

The timing is good for this initiative, Timpano said, noting the local economy seems to be entering a more positive phase.

"It does feel like we’ve turned the corner a bit," said Timpano. "We’ve seen a shift toward business start-ups and we’re starting to see more employment, which is great. This type of initiative can only help."

For more information, call the CDC at 705-325-4903 or visit www.orilliacdc.com.

Innovation Funds – Fact Sheet

The federal government recently unveiled its Southern Ontario Fund for Investment in Innovation (SOFII). Here are some important facts about this new two-year program:

- SOFII is a $20-million program to support growth or expansion of innovative companies in Southern Ontario. Geographically, Simcoe County falls into the western component of the program, which has a pool of $12 million available to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs)

- Loans of $150,000 to $500,000 are available to SMEs to support growth activities such as late-stage commercialization, new product or service development, new applications, new markets, or development/implementation of new processes or technologies

- The fund will give priority to businesses that are in communities facing long-term vulnerabilities as a result of structural and socio-economic factors, businesses facing innovation funding challenges and those with 50-500 employees

- A risk assessment will be done to determine if financing – repayable at competitive interest rates – will be approved

- Interested businesses can contact the Orillia Area Community Development Corporation (705-325-4903; www.orilliacdc.com) or the Western Region SOFII office (519-383-1371, www.sofii.ca)