Hamilton’s Economic Development team is hoping a pilot project with an artificial intelligence-powered search engine will make it easier for businesses to acquire funding they need to operate.
The online tool Fundica has been plugged into the ED’s website, investinhamilton.ca, in an effort to help local businesses find grants for support and expansion.
”It’s a pilot for us, so for this year and potentially the next year following,” manager of business investment and sector development Jennifer Patterson said of the duration the service will be utilized.
“We’re going to see how this tool interacts and how our companies, how it’s going, how it gets utilized and the successes.”
The Montreal-based financial service is known for using artificial intelligence (AI) to seek grants, equity funding and venture capital connecting with North American banks, economic development agencies as well as entrepreneur supporting organizations.
Burlington and Toronto are a couple of Ontario municipalities that are directing entrepreneurs to the tool, however, Hamilton has gone a step further integrating the search engine into its economic development website.
“What it does is pulls all potential funding opportunities that would be available to that company,” explained Patterson. “So it could be anywhere from federal funding and programing to support programing through provincial funding (and) even some of our local incentive programs that we may have available.”
The platform offers a ‘funding finder’ tool connecting applicants with prospective investors through a questionnaire that matches their type of business with possible investors.
Patterson says the city’s economic development team has been wrapping up a manufacturing strategy for Hamilton with Fundica apparently fitting into a support model they’re looking for in that sector.
“A lot of manufacturers ask for this type of support, so it actually speaks well to the work we do on business retention expansion,” said Patterson.
“Of course, 80 per cent of the work our team does is support businesses in our community … we came across this tool (and) thought it made sense.”