Partnership aims to boost business innovation | Chatham Daily News

The Municipality of Chatham-Kent, University of Windsor and SOAR Innovation have joined forces to boost entrepreneurship and economic growth across the region.

In an announcement made this past week, the organizations agreed to a memorandum of understanding on the facilitation and implementation of long-term economic opportunities.

This will advance the incubation and commercialization of innovation and research in food, agriculture, energy, water and rural affairs related to processes, technologies, systems, market development, investment and venture attraction, solution-oriented research, and globally competitive advanced technologies.

“I want to see a new wave of business development and an explosion of industry growth in Chatham-Kent,” Mayor Darrin Canniff said in a media release. “I believe that this partnership is vital to making that happen as it opens up a wide variety of avenues for new and existing businesses to see products developed that are on a global scale.”

The memorandum of understanding is a three-year agreement with the opportunity to extend the timelines based on needs and outcomes.

“Entrepreneurship and innovation are key priorities of the University of Windsor. We are confident that this partnership will bridge the gap between academia and industry,” said Dr. K. W. Michael Siu, vice-president of research and innovation at the University of Windsor.

“By providing SOAR Innovation’s clients with access to UWindsor expertise needed to support the development of new technologies, and supporting UWindsor startups through resources provided by SOAR Innovation, this partnership will ultimately contribute to a stronger economy in our region.”

SOAR Innovation has agreed to act as the central hub in order to keep all partners, businesses and stakeholders informed of progress and results. By acting as the primary facilitator, SOAR will be able to react quickly to business, market and industry demands.

“As a firm, our businesses focus on the very long term, which is our aspiration for SOAR – to identify, assist and accelerate building businesses for the next 50 years and more,” said Prashant Pathak, founder of SOAR Innovation. “Working closely with our municipal and education partners is key to ensuring that businesses we incubate and accelerate have access to the resources they need to scale up and become a force on the international stage.”

Formal understandings of key elements such as collaborative approach and confidentiality have been defined.

Stuart McFadden, director of Chatham-Kent economic development, said the goal is to move at the speed of business.

“This partnership will benefit not just the startup community, but is also a huge opportunity for our existing agriculture and manufacturing companies as it will give them resources to bring new products and services online,” he said.

The next step is to engage with local business, entrepreneurs, researchers and industry.

For more information, contact economic development at 1-866-542-5994, or visit www.investck.ca.