WINDSOR, May 1, 2012 – WEtech Alliance is thrilled to announce that one of its clients have been chosen to participate in VentureStart, a new program unveiled by the Mississauga-based Research Innovation Commercialization (RIC) Centre and WEtech Alliance. Designed to enhance the success rate of technology startups in Southern Ontario by providing targeted training and education, VentureStart also provides entrepreneurs with the opportunity to secure matching seed financing of up to $30,000 to launch their new venture.
Funded through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) and with support from the Canadian Innovation Centre (CIC) and a consortium of other non-profit Regional Innovation Centres, including WEtech Alliance, the program is geared to train as many as 450 entrepreneurs over 15 months, and provide as much as $4 million in seed financing to qualified applicants.
“The team at WEtech has worked closely with Dr. Indrajit Sinha in preparing for this early successful application.” said Karen Behune Plunkett, CEO and President at WEtech Alliance. “Funding for new ventures, particularily in this sector remains very challenging, so I am particularly pleased to recognize (and promote) FedDev’s commitment in supporting innovative entrepreneurs.”
The WEtech client chosen to participate in the program is:
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(Left to Right): Dr. Indrajit Sinha, Ph.D. Founder and President at BIOMEDCORE, Deborah Livneh, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at WEtech Alliance, and Karen Behune Plunkett, CEO and President at WEtech Alliance.
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BIOMEDCORE – Every tumor is unique. Analyses of tumor tissue for individual patient’s drug responses offer significant opportunities to improve treatment outcomes. BIOMEDCORE proposes to use its proprietary Zgraft platform as an affordable, innovative and high efficiency tool that offers a unique opportunity to predict each tumor’s drug sensitivity prior to treatment and effectively contribute in guiding therapy. For more information, visit www.biomedcore.com.
The VentureStart program works on an “equal contribution” basis, where entrepreneurs contribute toward the total cost of the education phase of the program (matched by FedDev through VentureStart) and 50 per cent of the seed financing for the product development phase, up to a maximum of $30,000 in matching funds.
To be eligible for the VentureStart program, entrepreneurs must be university or college graduates of a science, technology, engineering or mathematics program, and must reside in southern Ontario. Full details of the program and sign-up forms are available at www.venturestart.ca.
About WEtech Alliance
WEtech Alliance is funded by the Government of Ontario`s Ontario Network of Excellence (ONE). The ONE is Ontario’s innovation system. The ONE is made up of regional and sector focused organizations designed to help Ontario-based entrepreneurs rapidly grow their companies, and create jobs. For more information visit www.oneinnovation.ca.
Media Contact: Karen Behune Plunkett President/CEO, WEtech Alliance 519-997-2865 kbp@wetech-alliance.com
With the support of the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
