Kitchener-Waterloo MP Peter Braid announced March 5 that three local companies would receive federal government investment to produce and market new products.</p>
The $1,775,000 investment was split between Auvik Networks, a software-defined networking company; Dejero, a company that focuses on improving live broadcasting and live streaming; and Intellijoint Surgical, a company that produces technology for orthopedic surgeries.
Braid explained the importance of the investment, which falls under FedDev Ontario’s Investing in Business Innovation (IBI) initiative.
“Since I’ve been elected [as MP], I’ve heard two things from the local technology industry — they need access to talent and they need access to capital … The FedDev IBI program helps to fill that gap.”
Braid also emphasized that the investment would help these local companies in the long term, rather than just in their immediate stages of creation.
Students within the Kitchener-Waterloo region will benefit from the FedDev IBI investment as well, according to Braid.
“Students who are in the co-op programs will have co-op for their [integrated learning] opportunities,” said Braid. “As local economies continue to grow, that’s employment opportunities for students once they graduate as well.”
Armen Bakirtzian, CEO, director, and co-founder of Intellijoint Surgical agrees. In addition to the 20 employees that Intellejoint employs, one or two co-op students are hired per year as well. These students are usually in the Mechatronics Engineering program at UW.
For more information on FedDev Ontario, visit their website at www.feddevontario.gc.ca.
