York Region Economic Development’s monthly e-newsletter shares highlights and news from the business community, small business supports, events, economic data, and more.
IN THIS ISSUE
COVID-19 BUSINESS SUPPORT
BUSINESS COMMUNITY & INVESTMENT NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
- York Region’s AutoTech Sector Continues its Rise
- Vaughan-Based AYA Medical Announce Strategic Partnership with Markham Headquartered Kinglory to Use Blockchain Technology
- Enabling Innovation and Resilience in the Agri-Food Sector
SMALL BUSINESS & ENTREPRENEURSHIP HIGHLIGHTS
- York Region Entrepreneurship and Innovation Fund Open for Applications!
- Congratulations to Our 2021 Summer Company Students
- ventureLAB Supports the Creation of 140+ New Jobs in 2020
YORK REGION ECONOMIC DATA
BUSINESS EVENTS & OTHER INFORMATION
- Feature Event: 2021 Agri-Food Forum Hosted by York Region
- Looking to Start Exporting Globally? The Trade Accelerator Program Can Help
- Upcoming Business Events
COVID-19 BUSINESS SUPPORT
COVID-19 Business Resources & Funding Programs Overview
To help you make sense of all the available funding programs and resources, we continue to update our COVID-19 Business Resource page. This page contains information on supports announced by the federal, provincial, and municipal governments, as well as, events, and other pertinent information to impacted businesses. You can find information on all programs such as the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, Canada Recovery Hiring Program, and more, over on our dedicated COVID-19 support page.
BUSINESS COMMUNITY & INVESTMENT NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
Building Electric Vehicles, Apps to Track Carbon Footprints, and Enhancing Race Car Components: York Region’s AutoTech Sector Continues its Rise
York Region’s autotech industry is continuously building and developing tech for the cars of today and the future! In our latest #YRtech blog, we’ve rounded up some exciting announcements coming out of the automotive sector in York Region from the past few months. READ MORE
Vaughan-Based AYA Medica Announce Strategic Partnership with Markham Headquartered Kinglory to Use Blockchain Technology
iFocus, on behalf of AYA Medical, announce a strategic partnership with Kinglory’s blockchain technology. This collaboration can effectively protect industry knowledge, patent rights, and consumer safety as more and more consumers now want to be informed before they make a decision, especially when it comes to their health. READ MORE
Enabling Innovation and Resilience in the Agri-Food Sector
Do you know where your food comes from? As the fourth-largest food and beverage processing hub in Canada, York Region’s agriculture and agri-food sector is a vital part of the local economy that helps keep communities fed. From farms to food processors to restaurants, York Region offers a unique mix of resilience and innovation within the industry! READ MORE
Want more agri-food news? Subscribe to York Region’s Agri-Food E-Newsletter.
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SMALL BUSINESS & ENTREPRENEURSHIP NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
York Region Entrepreneurship and Innovation Fund Open for Applications!
The fund provides promising early stage start-ups, accelerators, incubators, and community partners an opportunity to increase innovation and elevate sustainability in York Region while expanding inclusion, diversity, and accessibility through two streams:
- Stream One: Community Partners that support the development of the innovation network (up to 2 applicants will receive $10K/recipient)
- Stream Two: Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs with innovative solutions leveraging applied AI in supply chain (up to 7 applicants will receive $10K/recipient)
Applications to the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Fund close on September 30, so don’t miss this opportunity! READ MORE
Congratulations to Our 2021 Summer Company Students!
The Summer Company 2021 students have reached the finish line! All nine students successfully completed the program, generated revenue and received their $3,000 grant. During the course of the summer, the students managed to generate over $16,800 in total revenue!
The York Small Business Enterprise Centre has been delivering the Summer Company program on behalf of the provincial government for more than a decade, but this is the first time the program has been run completely virtually. Despite the challenges of starting a business during COVID-19 restrictions, these students stepped up to take it head on and demonstrated determination, hard work and a positive attitude.
We wish our students all the best in their future endeavours!
Want more small business news? Subscribe to the Small Business E-Newsletter
ventureLAB Supports the Creation of 140+ New Jobs in 2020
Despite the economic and business challenges of COVID-19, ventureLAB program companies and alumni made an outstanding impact in 2020. From the launch of Tech Undivided and the Hardware Catalyst Initiative, discover everything else that this regional innovation centre supported in their 2020 Annual Review. READ MORE
YORK REGION ECONOMIC DATA
Unemployment Rates (%) | January 2019 – June 2021*
*Statistics Canada, Labour Force Characteristics, 3-month moving average, unadjusted for seasonality, August 2021
CMA – Census Metropolitan Area
Greater Toronto Area New Home & Condo Sales | June 2021
Source: Altus Group
BUSINESS EVENTS & OTHER INFORMATION
FEATURE EVENT // Register Now For 2021 Agri-Food Forum Hosted By York Region
The 2021 Municipal Agriculture Economic Development & Planning Forum is being hosted virtually by The Regional Municipality of York in collaboration with Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) and local municipalities from November 3 to 4, 2021.
This year’s theme is Innovation and Resiliency in the Agri-Food Sector, focused on agri-tech, entrepreneurship, exploring innovative ways of doing business and building a resilient agri-food sector in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a great opportunity for those with an interest in regional and local economic development and land use planning to learn, network and share experiences. LEARN MORE | REGISTER
Looking to Start Exporting Globally? The Trade Accelerator Program Can Help!
The Trade Accelerator Program (TAP) is an innovative initiative, designed to accelerate the strategic development of your business and to better prepare you for expansion into international markets. TAP is a one-stop-shop that will get businesses ready to go global in just a few sessions, culminating with a customized strategic export business plan carefully vetted by top industry experts!
The program is led by the Vaughan Chamber of Commerce and other partners and the 7-session program begins on October 19th, 2021. REGISTER NOW
Not sure if this is right for you? Join a free information session to learn more!
- Thursday, September 16th from 9:30 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.
- Wednesday, October 6th, 2021 from 9:30 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.
A Selection of Upcoming Business Events:
09/14 | Master Your Cash Flow To Stay Ahead of the Curve | ventureLAB
09/21 | E-Commerce 101: What, Why, and How | Digital Main Street
09/29 | Funding for Canadian Software Development Companies | Mentor Works
Subscribe to our other monthly e-newsletters on these topics:
YORK REGION BUSINESS UPDATE / AGRI-FOOD / SMALL BUSINESS
York Link | York Region Economic Development
The York Link team are here to help and are committed to supporting local businesses. We are still providing business advisory and consultation services, information on business resources, support for startups, and more in a virtual capacity at this time.