Government of Canada to invest over $7 million in the Kitchener-Waterloo tech sector

Photo courtesy of itbusiness.ca

Article courtesy of Samira Balsara, IT Business.ca

TORONTO. - Today, the Honourable Filomena Tassi, Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), announced an investment of C$7.5 million in three Kitchener-Waterloo-based tech companies: Shinydocs Corp., Encircle Inc. and Proto Research Inc. This investment aims to enhance the technologies within the companies and increase sales, leading to the creation of 75 jobs across Kitchener-Waterloo.

The announcement was made at an event hosted by Encircle Inc., a Kitchener-based tech firm that develops mobile software for the property insurance industry.

Encircle will receive $2.1 million through the Jobs and Growth Fund to enhance key features of its claims software that will support real-time claim monitoring and speed up the insurance claims process.

This funding will also help increase export opportunities in new markets and create 20 skilled jobs in Kitchener-Waterloo, FedDev revealed.

Shinydocs is adopting new technology to address the gap in digital content storage solutions, and Proto Research is expanding its multilingual customer service support solutions to make services more accessible by adding local language profiles for Africa and Asia.

“The Government of Canada’s investment in these three tech businesses will not only create over 75 new jobs across Kitchener-Waterloo, but it will also support the region’s global status as a tech and innovation hub,” said Valerie Bradford, Member of Parliament for Kitchener South–Hespeler. “Technology is changing our economy and through investments like these, we are supporting the growth of a critical sector, while also attracting more talent and ensuring resiliency in the years to come.”

FedDev Ontario’s fact sheet notes that Kitchener-Waterloo is home to over 1,500 tech-related businesses, and the region’s tech sector is predicted to employ 24,000 workers by 2025.