Manitoba Funding Day

You have a great idea and the skills to launch your company, but you don’t have the capital you need to actualize your vision. You know that there are investors and other funding sources out there, but how do you determine your path forward? Bioscience Association Manitoba (BAM) has a solution: it’s annual Funding Day event.

BAM hosts Funding Day to assist small and medium size businesses in gaining access to the capital and strategic partnerships required to help move their company forward. As the name suggests, Funding Day brings together companies, funders and service providers that can support their businesses. Last year, BAM hosted Funding Day with the support of BioTalent Canada and other industry groups and sector councils. As a result, over 900 meetings were facilitated for local small and medium enterprises (SME) across diverse sectors (bio-health, clean technology, agricultural technology, IT, digital, natural health products, and food development).

Funding Day’s format is simple: companies are matched with applicable funding programs and service providers. Seven-minute meetings are schedule enabling the company to quickly learn about available funding programs. The beauty of the meetings’ schedule lays with the fact that the meetings are strategically mapped to bring together potential partners (company and funder), which was possible with a unique algorithm and the expertise of BAM. This allowed both the parties to gather valuable information about each other in an efficient manner.

In addition to taking meetings throughout the day, Rob Henderson, President and CEO BioTalent Canada, was welcomed as the keynote speaker at lunch. Rob provided insight into the importance of developing a stable work force; sharing how this is one of the key challenges for any business often made worse by lack of financial resources. Providing examples of ways to support talent acquisition in the early stages, he outlined numerous wage subsidy programs that entrepreneurs and SMEs could make use of. He spoke about how the country is seeing a rise in new immigrants over the past few years and about special initiatives provided by the Federal government to support businesses that employ newcomers. Programs provided by BioTalent Canada support industry players who contribute to the bioscience industry.

PULL QUOTE: “I now know of different funding sources for acquiring capital assets, staff, and funding for research projects that are suited for my organization”. – Funding Day Participant

Participant feedback clearly indicate that the event was an overwhelming success. Targeted networking and facilitated introductions provided the SME’s with key insights around funding opportunities, wage subsidy, and potential leads for future partnerships. Funders and supporters left the event pleased to meet with the previous undiscovered companies, technologies and opportunities based in Manitoba.

For information about future Funding Day events, please contact [email protected].


Article provided by Bioscience Association Manitoba (BAM)