The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency will administer $4.2 million of federal spending to fund Nova Scotia’s Spark Innovation Challenge and the regional Community Futures Program.

The Spark Innovation Challenge allows early-stage companies located outside urban centres to compete for mentorship and grants of up to $50,000. The Community Futures Program provides loans and training to entrepreneurs who want to start or scale up their businesses.

About $3.3 million will be earmarked for the Community Futures Program and the rest for the Spark Innovation Challenge.

ACOA will distribute the funding for the Community Futures Program via Community Business Development Corporations – a nationwide network of government-funded not-for-profits that provide financial support to small businesses.

And the Spark Innovation funding will be streamed through the Regional Innovation Ecosystems stream of the Regional Economic Growth through Innovation program, which funds startups and support organizations with the aim of creating “inclusive” innovation ecosystems. You can find our coverage of the 2019 Spark Innovation Challenge here. 

“Innovation better positions businesses to develop and grow.  The funding from ACOA for SPARK will enable us to encourage new ideas in rural communities,” Erinn Smith, executive director of the Nova Scotia Association of Community Business Development Corporations, said in a statement. “The role these small businesses play in our community is often underestimated but the truth is there’s nothing small about the impact they have on our economy.”

Disclosure: ACOA is a client of Entrevestor.