Andrew Wilkinson, the Minister for Technology, Innovation, and Citizens' Services, will attend the launch of a new program in Prince George this week to boost local tech companies and get new ones off the ground.
"The program has been offered in other regions but this is the first time these resources have been available to tech entrepreneurs in the north," said Elissa Meiklem, consultant with the Innovation Central Society (ICS). "It is a venture acceleration program, which will really help businesses that qualify, there is a process for that, and we were really excited to discover we had a plethora of local companies that were already close to the qualifications."
The event will bring Wilkinson and senior ministry staff, as well as personnel from the B.C. Innovation Council and ICS into direct contact with local businesses that hope to take advantage of the investment program. Other community and business leaders will also attend, to give maximum networking opportunity to the aspiring entrepreneurs.
The event happens Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. at UNBC's downtown campus at the Bank of Montreal-BMO Centre (1310 3rd Ave.). In addition to meeting the dignitaries, there will also be topical fun activities like a 1-minute investment pitch competition.
"There is an amazing amount of leadership and innovation in our region," said Meiklem who called this an "exciting time for northern B.C." as innovative start-up firms unfurl their business ideas. Those who get support from the accelerator program "are poised to transform our city, region, province and country," with their market-ready products and services, she said.
Those interested in attending or getting information on the program are asked to send an email to [email protected].
