Ottawa supports business innovation in Sudbury

The federal government is spending $418,000 to support business innovation and commercialization in Sudbury.

The program will be facilitated by NORCAT, a non-profit regional innovation centre. Officials said it will fill a big gap for startups.

"The big gap is access to capital early on. There is not a lot of funding available at the moment for those early stage products, because they are just new ideas they are not validated," said Brendan Skiffington, the innovation coordinator at NORCAT.

"So a lot of people aren't wiling to invest money in these early stage companies."

Eligible companies can receive funding of up to $10,000.

"A lot of these young entrepreneurs, one of the things that stands in their way it being able to access capital," said Liberal MP Viviane Lapointe.

"At some point you need money. So NORCAT is there to help provide them with guidance and guide them as they get their ideas through to app stage."

NORCAT said the program would also offer mentorship opportunities and connections.