City contribution of $200,000 allows the AC to make a bigger impact
Today, City of Waterloo council approved a grant of $50,000 annually from 2015 to 2018 for the Accelerator Centre to support plans for expansion in the community and allow the AC to continue growing strong, sustainable companies in Waterloo Region.
“With close to one-third of our population consisting of students, Waterloo has a deep labour pool of highly-trained, educated, skilled professionals and entrepreneurs,” says Justin McFadden, executive director of economic development, City of Waterloo. “It’s important to our community that we keep this talent pool here in order to leverage these skills and entrepreneurship in order to maintain our position of leadership as a dynamic technology and innovation hub.”
“We’re pleased to have the ongoing support of the City as we seek to increase our impact in helping entrepreneurs build and scale their businesses here in Waterloo,” says Paul Salvini, CEO of the Accelerator Centre. “I believe the strong partnership we see from the City of Waterloo is central to why so many of our graduates choose to develop their businesses here.”
The Accelerator Centre has mentored over 130 early-stage start-ups that have created 1300 new jobs, and generated $400 million in revenue and funding. Of the 45 companies that have graduated from the Accelerator Program, more than 85 percent have remained in Waterloo region.
For more information about the city’s economic development initiatives, visit wearewaterloo.ca. For information about the Accelerator Centre’s programs, visit acceleratorcentre.com/programs.