Congratulations, Ontario! Today, the Ontario government announced that it is investing $4 million to help finance social enterprise pilot projects across the province. The province’s new Social Enterprise Demonstration Fund (SEDF) is part of the government’s Social Enterprise Strategy and uses a social finance approach to kick-start enterprises that drive solutions to social and environmental issues while providing economic returns.
The 11 community-based, non-profit intermediaries were chosen from across Ontario. Each have partnered with private investors to co-invest in early-stage, high-potential social enterprises. These intermediaries were announced at the Centre for Social Innovation (CSI) Spadina in Toronto to a celebratory crowd who have worked very hard to foster a growing social enterprise marketplace.
Get to know the successful applicants
Want to learn more about social enterprises? Check out the video below featuring Adam Spence, the associate director of venture & capital programs at the MaRS Centre for Impact Investing, for more examples of social enterprises in Ontario.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrMAAxZ62zU
Photo credit: Lucky Loonie by Sharon Drummond, used under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0