Ontario is very fortunate to have many entrepreneurs that have a lot of excellent ideas. We must keep in mind that these people are our future. The Ontario government is launching a new program geared towards Social entrepreneurs and enterprises. Social entrepreneurs are those whose focus is on dealing with social problems and evoking social change.
They will be given vouchers which they can redeem for training with a Social Enterprise Training Organization of their choice. The training programs may offer training in marketing, fundraising, and business planning, for example. One voucher will be given to those social enterprises who qualify. Each voucher is valued at $3,000. Those wanting to apply can do so, between June 1, 2015 up to July 13, 2015.
The training is being provided by…
- The MaRS Centre for Impact Investing (MCII),
- HUB Ottawa,
- Co-iLab,
- the Centre for Social Innovation (CSI),
- Social Asset Measurements Inc. (SAM).
Applicants can choose from these according to the training that is being offered which best suits their needs.
To start with the applicants must choose from the above. Then following this they need to apply to OCE. Along with the application there must be an endorsement from one of the following….
a Regional Innovation Centre (RIC),
Campus-Linked Accelerator (CLA),
On-Campus Entrepreneurship Activities (OCEA) institution
or
OCE Business Development Manager
There is a $50. Registration fee but this will be refunded if the applicant is not approved for the program.
To Qualify:
In general applicants are going to have to show they have a need for the training and have some type of aptitude for entrepreneurship. A business plan will also have to demonstrate that it is comprised of a scalable business model as well as other criteria. The applicant must also be based in Ontario
Entrepreneurs are finding it increasingly difficult to break into the business sector and get their ideas off the ground. More often than not funding and help that is available is usually geared towards the young adult, which doesn’t leave much opportunity for the older generation that still has plenty of steam in them and some pretty good ideas.
It is understandable perhaps why the government may tend more towards getting the youth into solid employment as they have many years of work productivity ahead of them. At the same time the experience that the older generation has is of critical importance that no doubt could be handed down to the young ones. The experience could be used to pave the way, as the young ones pick up the industry torch and run with it.
