Orazietti Announces $187,500 for new Small Business Incubator

Supplied by Sault MPP David Orazietti… Provincial Investment to Help Create Jobs Locally

Sault Ste. Marie – Today, David Orazietti MPP attended the grand opening of the Millworks Centre for Entrepreneurship, to announce a provincial investment of $187,500 for the small business incubator.

“One of the most important investments we can make as a government is in organizations that work to create job opportunities for residents in our city and this provincial funding for the Millworks Centre for Entrepreneurship will help to grow our local economy,” said Orazietti. “We recognize the important value of providing support for start-up companies and emerging businesses which are vital to the economy and to job creation in Northern Ontario.”

With support from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC), the Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corporation (SSMEDC) received $187,500 to establish a small business incubator, The Millworks Centre for Entrepreneurship, in Sault Ste. Marie.  The SSMEDC’s small business incubator project is designed to encourage entrepreneurship through a resource network, supporting new business opportunities and encouraging the growth of small and medium sized businesses in the community through the first three years of operation.

“Studies show that after five years, the success rate for businesses that use incubation services is over 80%, compared to around 33% for non-incubated companies,” said Dan Hollingsworth, Executive Director of Business Development for the Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corporation. “Given the benefit to local entrepreneurs, along with the local economy in general, the Millworks Centre for Entrepreneurship is a key priority project for our organization and the community.”

Investing in infrastructure is part of the government’s economic plan to build Ontario up and deliver on its number-one priority to grow the economy and create jobs. The four-part plan includes investing in talent and skills, including helping more people get and create the jobs of the future by expanding access to high-quality college and university education. The plan is making the largest investment in public infrastructure in Ontario’s history and investing in a low-carbon economy driven by innovative, high-growth, export-oriented businesses. The plan is also helping working Ontarians achieve a more secure retirement.

Some of the previous key NOHFC investments in Sault Ste. Marie include:

” $4.4 million for Sault Ste. Marie Airport Development Corporation ” $2 million Algoma University expansion of Athletic Centre ” $2.1 million Flakeboard Ltd. expansion ” $2.1 million Sault Harbour expansion ” $1.1 million Canadian Bank Note for e-gaming ” $1 million SIS Manufacturing ” $1 million Envirotek Sealing and Fibreglassing ” $1 million Triple M Metal ” $800,000 Sault College Student and Community Service Hub and Link ” $785,500 Palmer Construction Group Inc. ” $738,200 Rector Machine Works ” $475,000 Soo Foundry & Machine equipment upgrade ” $202,750 China Steel