The federal government on Friday placed the dollar amount on its contribution to Propel ICT at as much as $2.9 million over five years.
The government previously said the New Brunswick-based operator of the Launch36 accelerator would receive funding under the National Research Council’s Canada Accelerator and Incubator Program, or CAIP. However, it had never said how much the accelerator would receive.
Under its government’s Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy, the government is aiming to strengthen Canada’s position in scientific research while promoting the commercialization of Canadian innovations.
“The financial support provided by the Government of Canada through the Canada Accelerator and Incubator Program will allow us to work toward our aggressive goal of helping launch 420 new companies over the next five years,” Trevor MacAusland, Propel’s Vice President of Business Development, said in a statement.
In June, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that the federal government would devote $100 million to funding several organizations across the country, including PropelICT and the PEI BioAlliance.
The BioAlliance said in October the CAIP funding would be the cornerstone of a five-year program called Emergence, which could receive more than $7 million. The NRC will contribute up to $3.8 million, while Innovation P.E.I. will kick in $500,000. The companies participating in the program will put up a total of $1.3 million, and the remainder will come from the P.E.I. Agri-Alliance and farm community.
PropelICT was formed in Saint John 11 years ago to foster growth in the technology industry. In the winter of 2012, it launched its own accelerator, Launch36, with the goal of putting 36 startups through its program within three years. It ended up launching about 50.
In recent months, senior people within Propel ICT have been talking internally about “Propel 2.0”, in which the increased funding will produce a richer program offering that extends across Atlantic Canada. The plan involves working with various partners – including Planet Hatch in Fredericton, Volta Labs in Halifax and StartupNL in St. John’s -- to develop more and better tech companies. The ultimate goal is to establish at least one billion-dollar company in the region.
Propel ICT offers two programming options: Start and Build. “Start” helps guide entrepreneurs through the early stages of validating, developing and launching a startup. “Build” focuses on later stage startups, those who have progressed beyond the idea phase with initial market traction.
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