Economy
Supporting innovation for a stronger Quebec economy Français – Canada NewsWire
Minister Mélanie Joly announces more than $16M in Government of Canada support for businesses and organizations developing innovative solutions
MONTRÉAL, July 13, 2020 /CNW/ – Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED)
It is with the help of new technologies that entrepreneurs succeed in developing new products, improving production methods, deploying new marketing strategies and implementing new organizational practices.
Businesses and organizations across all sectors need innovative solutions to stand out from the competition, enhance their productivity and ensure sustainable growth.
46 Quebec businesses and organizations benefit from $16.4M to develop their ideas
The Quebec entrepreneurial ecosystem abounds with SMEs that have developed technological solutions to optimize how they produce goods and offer services. These solutions are enabling Quebec to be more resilient in the face of economic issues caused by the health crisis.
For many years now, the Government of Canada has set itself the mandate to boost innovation and the marketing of these initiatives, to the benefit of businesses and consumers. The Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages, the Honourable Mélanie Joly, today announced financial support totalling $16,425,487 for 46 innovative projects that have emerged out of the ingenuity of homegrown entrepreneurs.
These contributions make it possible to develop interactive solutions, specialized software, tailored digital platforms, online instruction programs and biotechnology products.
Bolstering accelerators and incubators to propel innovation
In addition to investing in innovative businesses, CED works in synergy with Quebec’s business incubators and accelerators. They offer crucial support for young, innovative businesses with high growth potential (start-ups) at all phases of their existence, nurturing talent and innovation.
This is particularly the case for the accelerator for the creation of technological businesses (ACET), the Centre de l’entrepreneurship technologique de l’ETS (Centech) as well as Québec International, Entrepreneuriat Laval, which are receiving non-repayable contributions of $5M and $2M, respectively. This support will strengthen the dynamism of the innovation ecosystem by mobilizing incubators, accelerators and other community stakeholders (universities, college centres for technology transfer, consortiums and research centres, etc.) around shared projects.
Additional information on the projects and financial assistance is provided in the related backgrounder.
The COVID-19 pandemic has propelled key technology trends forward, including in the areas of teleworking, entertainment, mental health, online shopping and digital payments, 3D printing and robotics. Rather than being forced to juggle with a slowdown in activity during the crisis, the technology field has above all witnessed the creation of opportunities for development, and is even considered as a solution to the current crisis and to help overcome future challenges.
Innovation will play a major role in the fight against the devastating effects of the pandemic, and the Government of Canada will continue to be a key player in supporting technological development.
Quotes
“Across the country, technology is transforming traditional industries, business development and the way we collaborate. Helping businesses to innovate so they can enhance their competitiveness and create good-quality jobs has been at the heart of our priorities for many years now. We are supporting these Quebec SMEs, whose success is well established and who will be part of the solution to bring good jobs back to Quebecers, to contribute to the vitality of our local economies and, for some, to fight against the pandemic. As today’s announcement signals, we were here for them before the pandemic, and we will continue to work together to find solutions and come back even stronger.”
The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Member of Parliament for Ahuntsic-Cartierville, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages and Minister responsible for CED
“We know that innovation can contribute significantly to improving the existence of citizens in Canada and around the world, who must constantly deal with global trends marked by rupture and change. The situation we are currently living is a good example of this. The Government of Canada is committed to stimulating innovation to enhance the long-term productivity and competitiveness of businesses and organizations. We are also proud to be able to offer better support to business incubators and accelerators, a true technological engine for the future.”
Élisabeth Brière, Member of Parliament for Sherbrooke and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec)
Quick facts
- The Honourable Mélanie Joly is the minister responsible for the six regional development agencies (RDAs), including CED.
- Funds are being granted under CED’s Regional Economic Growth through Innovation program. This program targets entrepreneurs leveraging innovation to grow their businesses and enhance their competitiveness, as well as regional economic stakeholders helping to create an entrepreneurial environment conducive to innovation and growth for all, across all regions.
- CED is a key federal partner in Quebec’s regional economic development. With its 12 regional business offices, CED is accompanying Quebec businesses, supporting organizations and regions into tomorrow’s economy.
Related links
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SOURCE Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions
For further information: Media Relations, Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, [email protected]; Jeremy Ghio, Communications Director, Office of the Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages, [email protected]
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China’s world-beating electric vehicle industry, at the heart of growing trade tensions with the US and Europe, is set to receive a big boost from the government’s latest effort to accelerate growth.
That’s one takeaway from what Beijing has revealed about its plan for incentives that will encourage Chinese businesses and households to adopt cleaner technologies. It’s widely expected to be one of this year’s main stimulus programs, though question-marks remain — including how much the government will spend.
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German business sentiment improved to its highest level in a year — reinforcing recent signs that Europe’s largest economy is exiting two years of struggles.
An expectations gauge by the Ifo institute rose to 89.9. in April from a revised 87.7 the previous month. That exceeds the 88.9 median forecast in a Bloomberg survey. A measure of current conditions also advanced.
“Sentiment has improved at companies in Germany,” Ifo President Clemens Fuest said. “Companies were more satisfied with their current business. Their expectations also brightened. The economy is stabilizing, especially thanks to service providers.”
A stronger global economy and the prospect of looser monetary policy in the euro zone are helping drag Germany out of the malaise that set in following Russia’s attack on Ukraine. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said last week that the country may have “turned the corner,” while Chancellor Olaf Scholz has also expressed optimism, citing record employment and retreating inflation.
There’s been a particular shift in the data in recent weeks, with the Bundesbank now estimating that output rose in the first quarter, having only a month ago foreseen a contraction that would have ushered in a first recession since the pandemic.
Even so, the start of the year “didn’t go great,” according to Fuest.
“What we’re seeing at the moment confirms the forecasts, which are saying that growth will be weak in Germany, but at least it won’t be negative,” he told Bloomberg Television. “So this is the stabilization we expected. It’s not a complete recovery. But at least it’s a start.”
Monthly purchasing managers’ surveys for April brought more cheer this week as Germany returned to expansion for the first time since June 2023. Weak spots remain, however — notably in industry, which is still mired in a slump that’s being offset by a surge in services activity.
“We see an improving worldwide economy,” Fuest said. “But this doesn’t seem to reach German manufacturing, which is puzzling in a way.”
Germany, which was the only Group of Seven economy to shrink last year and has been weighing on the wider region, helped private-sector output in the 20-nation euro area strengthen this month, S&P Global said.
–With assistance from Joel Rinneby, Kristian Siedenburg and Francine Lacqua.
(Updates with more comments from Fuest starting in sixth paragraph.)
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When Moscow resident Zoya, 62, was planning a trip to Italy to visit her daughter last August, she saw the perfect opportunity to buy the Apple Watch she had long dreamed of owning.
Officially, Apple does not sell its products in Russia.
The California-based tech giant was one of the first companies to announce it would exit the country in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
But the week before her trip, Zoya made a surprise discovery while browsing Yandex.Market, one of several Russian answers to Amazon, where she regularly shops.
Not only was the Apple Watch available for sale on the website, it was cheaper than in Italy.
Zoya bought the watch without a moment’s delay.
The serial code on the watch that was delivered to her home confirmed that it was manufactured by Apple in 2022 and intended for sale in the United States.
“In the store, they explained to me that these are genuine Apple products entering Russia through parallel imports,” Zoya, who asked to be only referred to by her first name, told Al Jazeera.
“I thought it was much easier to buy online than searching for a store in an unfamiliar country.”
Nearly 1,400 companies, including many of the most internationally recognisable brands, have since February 2022 announced that they would cease or dial back their operations in Russia in protest of Moscow’s military aggression against Ukraine.
But two years after the invasion, many of these companies’ products are still widely sold in Russia, in many cases in violation of Western-led sanctions, a months-long investigation by Al Jazeera has found.
Aided by the Russian government’s legalisation of parallel imports, Russian businesses have established a network of alternative supply chains to import restricted goods through third countries.
The companies that make the products have been either unwilling or unable to clamp down on these unofficial distribution networks.
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