Judging from the media headlines and gauging by the universities and incubator clusters, you’d think that Toronto and Waterloo are the only reasonable choices to found a startup in Ontario – at first. But upon closer inspection, it’s the growing area up Highways 400 and 404 that’s quickly becoming a promising place for startup and scale-up businesses.
York Region is culturally rich, with approximately 43 per cent of the 1.2 million population made up of immigrants and over 200 distinct ethnic groups. From healthcare and career coaches to innovative technology, that diversity is reflected in the wide variety of startups in the area.
“The startup culture is strong in York Region, with about 50,000 companies in the area,” Lucas Chang, community co-lead at Startup York, a grassroots organization led by local entrepreneurs to help and support early stage businesses on their path to success, tells IT World Canada. “It’s a broad community, so there’s a lot of variety; however, there’s definitely a technology and innovation emphasis, likely spurred on by major tech companies like IBM, Avaya, and Lenovo – just to name a few – having offices in the region.”
Full Article: www.itbusiness.ca