THUNDER BAY – As the economy becomes increasingly digital, support for new start-ups which are using technology to do the heavy lifting is a key to success. One of the areas in Canada where the focus has been on technology has remained the Kitchener-Waterloo area. Other areas include Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.
“Google has been a great corporate supporter of the Waterloo tech sector and of Communitech’s work with local startups, so I’m delighted to officially welcome Google into our partner space at the Communitech Hub,” said Iain Klugman, CEO of Communitech. “Announcing this initiative while unveiling Google’s new Toronto office creates another strong bridge between businesses in the Waterloo Region and downtown Toronto, continuing our long record of collaboration across the region.”
Google Canada and Communitech, one of Canada’s largest start-up enablers, have announced a partnership to help mentor and grow a new generation of successful Canadian-led technology companies. As part of today’s announcement, Google Canada and Communitech will be opening a new digital collaboration space, as a place for mentoring and hosting start-ups in the early stages of their involvement with Communitech’s Hyperdrive initiative.
The site, located adjacent to both the Hyperdrive and Google Kitchener-Waterloo offices, this new space will be used in part to connect startups to Google’s Global Entrepreneurial Network and Google Developer Network, as well as to startup initiatives around the world.
“At Google, we are dedicated to supporting Canadian technology entrepreneurship to help mentor and grow a new generation of successful Canadian-led technology companies,” said Google Canada’s Director of Engineering, Steve Woods. “Start-ups fuel innovation and play a key role in growing Canada’s digital economy – that’s why it’s critically important to nurture the amazing entrepreneurial talent here as a way of growing our start-up community.”
As part of this partnership, Googlers will act as technical advisors, mentors and staff the space daily to help startups working with Communitech, with a goal of creating an increased presence of great young companies in the Waterloo Region.
Kitchener-Waterloo is a centre of Canadian innovation. Combining the presence of Canada’s top engineering and computer science programs at the University of Waterloo along with a growing and dynamic tech community, it continually attracts some of Canada’s top innovators and leading technology companies.
“We hope this collaboration will be a model for future partnerships and continue to support and enrich the vibrant tech startup community here in Ontario,” Klugman concluded.
