OTTAWA, CANADA – JUNE 27, 2019 | Today, Startup Canada and Sovereign Insurance announced the recipients of the 2019 Emerging Business Fund for Startup Canada Community Leaders which provides micro-grants to invest in Startup Community programming across Canada to advance the resilience and growth of emerging businesses across Canada.
Entrepreneurship is a proven catalyst for economic growth globally. This Fund will allow Startup Canada and Sovereign Insurance to join forces to support emerging businesses in cities, towns, and villages across Canada.
“Canada is a vast country with unique communities from coast to coast to coast. We are very excited to have partnered with Sovereign Insurance to provide five of our Community Leaders with this Fund so they can make an impact in their communities to address and support their entrepreneurs’ needs at a local level so that every entrepreneur in every corner can be supported,” said Andrea Knapp, Programs and Community Manager at Startup Canada.
Through the Emerging Business Fund, Startup Canada and Sovereign Insurance aim to support the resilience and growth of emerging businesses through training, mentorship, networking, and the provision of resources and support while driving awareness of the importance of risk management, resilience and the sense of community that each new business supports. Recipients are funded with grants of $5,600 to run events that will demonstrably increase the resilience of emerging enterprises in their communities.
“Sovereign Insurance is passionate about protecting businesses and the communities they serve. That’s why Sovereign Insurance partnered with Startup Canada to offer the Emerging Business Fund,” said Steve Phillips, EVP & Chief Operating Officer, Sovereign Insurance. “It’s one way to help ensure that Canadian new businesses are well equipped to build resiliency, leaving them confident to not only navigate through new and emerging risk but also to position themselves to scale up and thrive as a successful business in the long-term.”
The 2019 Emerging Business Fund recipients are:
- Startup Vancouver, a thriving and strong community in Vancouver, BC led by Colin Weston that runs regular events such as #VanStartupStories and Startup Drinks.
“Startup Vancouver is excited to collaborate with Sovereign Insurance to create an upcoming event in our #VanStartupStories monthly speaker series. Sovereign’s commitment through their Emerging Business Fund will allow us to co-present “RESILIENCE: Empowering stories from entrepreneurs with physical and intellectual challenges,” an evening of impactful and engaging storytelling that is sure to move our audience,” said Colin Weston. - Startup Lloyd, a dynamic community in Lloydminster, AB led by Tess Wack that supports its entrepreneurs through mentorships, business model canvas, and many more.
“Startup Lloydminster is incredibly excited to work with Startup Canada and Sovereign Insurance on supporting initiatives to mitigate risk across our region. The support we are receiving from Sovereign Insurance will allow us to host an innovative “Design Jam” to facilitate a unique, adventurous and thought-provoking design thinking process to determine the factors and grassroots approach to mitigating risk in small business enterprises. We are expecting to share these results across the Startup Canada network in the hopes that the results and innovation developed through the Startup Lloydminster Design Jam, will have an impact that can be shared across multiple platforms thanks to Sovereign Insurance and the Emerging Business Fund,” said Wendy Plandowski, Entrepreneur in Residence. - Startup YHZ, a powerful community in Halifax, NS led by John Robertson, Malary Schurman and Victoria Jeha that runs meetups every month to boost their entrepreneurs’ growth.
“StartupYHZ brings together a diverse group of people to celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit and learn from each other’s successes and failures. Entrepreneurs helping entrepreneurs, gives newcomers a roadmap to navigate the complex ecosystem of funding, talent and building a business, along with an invaluable network of community of support,” says Victoria Jeha (Co-Chair StartupYHZ). “We are thrilled to be the recipient of the Emerging Business Fund, which will allow us to have an even deeper impact through strengthening and expanding the reach of our monthly meetup events” says Malary Schurman (Co-Chair, StartupYHZ). - Startup Peel, a grassroots-driven movement in Peel, Ontario bringing together people passionate about collaboration, innovation and learning led by Melloney Campbell. They offer mentorship and run very successful events to support their community.
“We are excited to work with Sovereign Insurance and Startup Canada to bring Cyber Security Talks “Scaling through Resiliency,” a panel of industry leaders sharing their knowledge to educate and prepare Startups, SMBEs with tools and insights to scale their business while being Cyber Smart. Education is key, but knowing how to apply it is critical in our digital age. Each participant will leave with the knowledge that they are the first line of defence,” said Melloney Campbell. - Montréal Startup Community is a diverse community of entrepreneurs with big ambitions. Sergio Escobar is a Montréal Ambassador who supports the community’s entrepreneurs as an outstanding mentor.
“Montréal is definitely an entrepreneurship hub in Canada with new entrepreneurs starting new innovative ideas every day. We are excited to be a recipient of this Fund to help our community, especially those new to entrepreneurship, learn through workshops and speakers about resilience when starting up,” said Sergio Escobar.
For more information, contact:
Rachelle DeSorcy
Communications & Media Relations
Startup Canada
rachelle.desorcy@startupcan.ca
613-627-0787 ext. 109
Merissa King
Senior Advisor, Marketing & Communications
Sovereign Insurance
merissa.king@sovgen.com
204-982-1273
About Startup Canada
Startup Canada is Canada’s entrepreneurship organization. Startup Canada promotes and supports the success and growth of Canada’s 2.3 million entrepreneurs, with a mandate to foster economic growth, competitiveness, and prosperity through entrepreneurship. Since launching, Startup Canada’s programming has directly supported more than 200,000 entrepreneurs and 50 grassroots Startup Community organizations. Working with over 750 ecosystem partners, including accelerators, incubators, research parks, educational institutions, economic development agencies, associations, and government programs, Startup Canada serves entrepreneurs from all backgrounds, industries, and stages of development, with a network reflective of Canada’s diverse population. Learn more at startupcan.ca.
About Sovereign Insurance
The Sovereign General Insurance Company (Sovereign Insurance) empowers Canadian businesses to succeed by developing and distributing risk solutions they trust and value. Sovereign is passionate about protecting Canadian businesses and the communities they serve and is driven by the belief that whether you’re a partner, client or employee, your experience matters. Canadian owned and operated since 1953, Sovereign is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Co-operators General Insurance Company, a leading Canadian provider of multi-line insurance products with assets of more than $6.7 billion. Sovereign operates in six offices across Canada and is proud to carry an AM Best A- (Excellent) rating. To learn more, visit sovereigninsurance.ca.