A new tech incubator program has received a $1.32 million investment from the federal government. The funding aims to help further the ideas of 30 entrepreneurs in the life sciences sector.
The money is going towards London-based TechAlliance’s new incubator program BURST, which will provide skills development, mentorship, and access to capital for innovative technology companies in their early stages.
TechAlliance CEO and President Marilyn Sinclair say they’ve started to accept applications for their first ten BURST recipients, who will receive up to $30,000 in seed financing, $10,000 in training and mentoring, and access to working space at Western University’s Discovery Park.
“We’re going to have three ten-company cohorts that we will be putting through this incubation program,” explained Sinclair. “The idea is that when these twelve months are up, they’ll be investor-ready.”
Once those businesses have the chance to grow and thrive, BURST is expected to create up to 45 new full-time jobs.
The Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario made the funding announcement around noon on Friday at the offices of TechAlliance, a not-for-profit innovation centre which offers services to help start, grow or connect tech companies in industries such as digital media, life science, manufacturing and clean technology.
“You have to be able to give innovators the money in order to make sure that their discovery moves up the chain,” said London West MP Kate Young.
“It’s easy to maybe have an idea – but how do you take that idea and make it into a product? How do you sell that product? And that’s where the federal government is coming on board to say, ‘Yes, we want to support you,'” Young said.
Mayor Matt Brown took part in a tour of TechAlliance’s facility before the announcement, along with other local politicians, for a first-hand look at the kinds of innovations Tech Alliance helps to develop.
“Many of the innovations that I was looking at today were prototypes for practicing surgeons to get experience before operating on a real life human-being,” he added. “It was amazing, and incredibly authentic. When you touched the product, it felt just like a skin from a human being.”
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