Ontario Enhancing Government Services Through Partnerships with Small Business

Breaking News, GTA Weekly News
Brad Duguid Minister of Economic Development and Growth

Province Helping Businesses Develop Globally Competitive Products and Services

Ontario is partnering with small businesses to develop innovative technologies that will help government deliver better services and programs across the province.

Through the Small Business Innovation Challenge, companies will be responsible for developing technologies in two areas:

Digital Identity: businesses will develop, test and demonstrate technologies that will allow people to prove their identity when they interact with government services, such as when applying for social assistance or OSAP via a common, secure and user-friendly method. The successful Ontario small businesses that will develop these technologies are:

  • Bluink Ltd.
  • Simeio Solutions Canada Inc.
  • 2Keys Corp.
  • Nuco Inc.
  • IDENTOS Inc.

Vehicle Occupancy Detection: businesses will develop, test and demonstrate technologies that will detect how many people are in vehicles using high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes to ensure that vehicles with more than one occupant are not inadvertently billed or fined. The successful Ontario small businesses that will develop these technologies are:

  • Miovision Technologies Inc.
  • Laipac Technology Inc.
  • Ienso Inc.
  • Smats Traffic Solutions Inc.
  • Invision AI Inc.
  • Strategic Mapping Inc.
  • The Working Group
  • Futurebound Corp.
  • A.U.G. Signals Ltd.
  • uConekt Inc.
  • Fortran Traffic Systems Ltd.
  • The Sky Guys Ltd.

Experience gained through real-world testing will help these companies be better positioned to market their innovations globally and continue to grow their businesses in the province.

Helping businesses innovate while enhancing government services for people across the province is part of our plan to create jobs, grow our economy and help people in their everyday lives.

Quick Facts

  • A total of $6,495,113 was allocated to the first round of challenges, with $3,764,513 towards digital identity participants and $2,730,600 towards vehicle occupancy detection participants.
  • The Small Business Innovation Challenge is delivered by the Ontario Centres of Excellence.
  • Companies must be located in Ontario and have fewer than 500 employees to participate in the Small Business Innovation Challenge.
  • The Government of Ontario purchases $6 billion in goods, services and construction each year from more than 55,000 vendors, most of which are Ontario-based small- and medium-sized businesses.

Additional Resources

Quotes

“These exciting challenges help some of Ontario’s best and brightest innovators and entrepreneurs develop leading solutions to everyday problems. The results of these challenges will be innovative technologies ready to commercialize and export globally.”

Brad Duguid

Minister of Economic Growth and Development

“These challenges are a great way for Ontario-based small businesses to get the support they need to bring their technologies to life. By using government as a launching pad they will gain a foundation for global opportunities, and strengthen Ontario’s position as a leader in innovative technologies.”

Reza Moridi

Minister of Research, Innovation and Science

“OCE is proud to deliver the Small Business Innovation Challenge on behalf of the Ontario government. The program will support Ontario-based, technology-driven SMEs in their mission to develop and test innovative technology solutions for public sector challenges. I would like to congratulate the successful applicants and I look forward to seeing their products and services grow.”

Tom Corr

President and CEO of Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE)

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