thriveFORWARD Delivers 5X Leverage from Private Sector Innovators

With the ongoing global economic challenges, many businesses face real challenges in securing funding that will help them grow. However, the thriveFORWARD project is breaking this cycle with a 5X leverage from private sector innovators. Thanks to the Government of Canada support through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), the Northumberland Community Futures Development Corporation(NCFDC) has mobilized innovation-driven job creation and growth across southern Ontario.

The thriveFORWARD project has unlocked up to $25,000 matching performance-based funding for operational resilience and capacity-building, which has helped early-stage entrepreneurs and industrial intrapreneurs commercialize innovative new products, services, and processes that enhance value chains, drive inclusive and sustainable economic development, and fire up the region’s productivity and job creation engines.

For our team at Asamaka Industries Ltd, we specialize in electrical design and control systems integration. This was a great opportunity to access funding to support our business expansion through innovation. Thanks to the thriveFORWARD initiative, we received approved funding of up to $25,000 matching performance-based funding for operational resilience and capacity-building, to help manage short-term opportunity costs, advance timelines, access new markets, formalize and commercialize intellectual property (IP), de-risk deals, or augment the scope and impact of truly pivotal projects on a path to business expansion and job creation.

Susan Carmichael, Chair of the Board of Directors of NCFDC, explained that both early-stage ventures and established businesses apply for non-repayable performance-based funding. The co-investment mechanism helps business leaders manage short-term opportunity costs, access new markets, and de-risk deals. Our company has been identified as a great example of a technology-driven company that is ready to move forward, and thanks to the thriveFORWARD initiative.

As of the end of Q1 of the 2023 calendar year, a combined total of $36 million has already been mobilized via thriveFORWARD, and many more companies are joining this strategic initiative. The thriveFORWARD-backed ventures are advancing a wide array of digital and cleantech applications across multiple critical sectors and value chains. More than 100 projects have leveraged over $30 million in private sector investment, supported 83 patent and IP registrations, launched 240 new products, processes, or services, creating 445 jobs and impacting a further 2,400 across southern Ontario.

thriveFORWARD is an excellent example of how investments from the Government of Canada can be the catalyst that drives green innovation and brings cutting-edge solutions to market. With support from FedDev Ontario, thriveFORWARD helps job creators’ future-proof their businesses, build resiliency, and prepare for growth by supporting the transition to a green economy, fostering an inclusive recovery, enhancing Canada’s competitiveness through digital adoption to improve productivity and manufacturing processes, and strengthening capacity in sectors critical to Canada’s economic recovery and growth.

Asamaka Industries and other funded ventures are shaping the industries of the future, and their innovation and success is a testament to the exceptional public ROI, the return on investment of government funds, made possible by thriveFORWARD.