BRAMPTON, ON (May 21, 2021) – Yesterday, the City of Brampton hosted a virtual launch for BHive Brampton, a soft landing pad for international entrepreneurs in Brampton’s Innovation District.
BHive is an initiative powered by the City of Brampton with a goal to empower the next generation of innovators, accelerate their journey and create a positive impact for the entrepreneur, economy and community as a whole. Established in collaboration with the Toronto Business Development Centre, BHive is intended to attract foreign entrepreneurs who wish to establish new, scalable businesses in Canada through the Start-up Visa. Successful applicants will be granted their permanent residency and during their 6-month incubation program, will be given a range of resources including office space, networking opportunities and business support services.
The continued evolution of the City’s Innovation District is a key piece of its Economic Recovery Strategy, and will help the City move forward from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. BHive joins a number of entrepreneurial, business incubation, and accelerator spaces in Brampton’s Innovation District, including the Brampton Entrepreneur Centre, the Ryerson-led Innovation Zone, the Research Innovation Commercialization (RIC) Centre, the Founder Institute, a Cyber Security Accelerator, the Catalyst Cyber Range led by Rogers Cyberecure Catalyst, and Ryerson's DMZ. The Brampton Board of Trade and Downtown Brampton BIA are also key partners in building the Innovation District.
Learn more about BHive here. Learn about the City’s Innovation District here.
Quotes
“Brampton is a City of Opportunities, and as we launch BHive, we continue to create an ecosystem where entrepreneurs can ideate companies and products, hire talent, raise capital, and scale their company all without leaving our Innovation District. Brampton truly is on the path to becoming a leader in Innovation. I look forward to seeing the great success stories that will get their start at BHive and our Innovation District.”
- Patrick Brown, Mayor, City of Brampton
“Brampton is on its way to becoming a leader in innovation and is creating jobs for the future. By welcoming BHive to our expanding Innovation District, we are strengthening our ability to cultivate a start-up community, develop local talent and support entrepreneurs through every stage of their journey. We look forward to welcoming new businesses to our community and watching them flourish.”
- Martin Medeiros, Regional Councillor, Wards 3&4; Chair, Economic Development, City of Brampton
“The continued evolution of Brampton’s Innovation District is a key piece of our Economic Recovery Strategy, and will help us move forward from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Innovation and Technology sector plays a key role in that economic resiliency. As BHive empowers the next generation of innovators, it will create a positive impact for the economy and community as a whole.”
- Paul Vicente, Regional Councillor, Wards 1&5; Vice-Chair, Economic Development and Culture, City of Brampton
“Brampton’s growing innovation ecosystem showcases our staff’s commitment to creating an Innovation District that brings the best partners to the table. With the launch of BHive, we bring the added expertise of the Toronto Business Development Centre right to our Innovation District, offering even more opportunities for collaboration, partnership and innovation across every industry.”
- David Barrick, Chief Administrative Officer, City of Brampton
“We are proud to be part of the City of Brampton’s newly launched innovation district, which partners with the region’s top academic institutions and forward-thinking community leaders to create an entrepreneur-friendly ecosystem. BHive seeks to bring experienced new-comer entrepreneurs and help them land and expand. Our investments in innovative entrepreneurs will benefit future businesses as well as the overall growth of the innovation ecosystem in Canada.”
- Vikram Khurana, CEO, Brampton BHive.
"The key to a healthy ecosystem is cross-pollination, and by uniting people who possess varying backgrounds and expertise, we strengthen not only the BHive, but grow the innovation ecosystem. In tandem with TBDC’s expertise in providing world-class programming for new-comer entrepreneurs, we look forward to bringing that shared experience and supporting BHive to build a better future with innovation that makes significant contributions in the region and Canada as a whole.”
- Sobi Ragunathan, Board Member, Toronto Business Development Centre; Senior Compliance Partner, 4S Consulting Services Inc.
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As one of the fastest-growing cities in Canada, Brampton is home to 650,000 people and 70,000 businesses. People are at the heart of everything we do. We are energized by our diverse communities, we attract investment, and we are embarking on a journey to lead technological and environmental innovation. We partner for progress to build a healthy city that is safe, sustainable and successful. Connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Learn more at www.brampton.ca.
MEDIA CONTACT
Megan Ball
Senior Advisor, Media Relations,
City of Brampton
905.874.2143 | megan.ball@brampton.ca
