Ontario invests $51 million in student entrepreneurs

As part of its Youth Jobs Strategy, Ontario has launched 5 new programs intended to assist young entrepreneurs, investing a total of $51 million. The government is providing $5-million to the On-Campus Entrepreneurship Activities (OCEA) program and $20-million to the Campus Linked Accelerators (CLA) program to help students develop entrepreneurial skills and transfer academic learning to the marketplace. The province is also investing $9 million in the SmartStart Seed fund, a program that helps 18–29-year-olds build technology companies. Ontario will also provide $7 million to the Youth Business Acceleration Program, as well as $10 million to Talent Edge, a program that “bridges the gap between academia and the workforce” by facilitating collaboration between students’ academic institutions and industry partners. Ontario News Release