Invest WindsorEssex to establish automobility accelerator

Invest WindsorEssex (IWE) will establish Canada’s first automobility accelerator in the Windsor-Essex region.

A FedDev Ontario non-repayable contribution of $7.5 million was announced towards this project by Irek Kusmierczyk, Member of Parliament, Windsor–Tecumseh.

IWE will offer a first-in-Canada training and other programming to support the upskilling of 1,350 automobility entrepreneurs and scaling firms.

“Today’s announcement furthers the local economic development strategy of the Windsor-Essex region to anchor its growth around a developing automobility cluster—one that will support 1,350 entrepreneurs and companies and attract $40 million in foreign direct investment here to Windsor-Essex,” said Kusmierczyk. “The far-reaching results of FedDev Ontario’s investments can be seen in small-and medium-sized businesses across the region that are successfully weathering COVID-19 and building resilience for the future.”

The project will focus on the needs of start-ups and scale-ups in the automobility ecosystem, and on electric vehicles (EV), connected and autonomous vehicles (CAV), and cyber security firms.

FedDev Ontario’s investment will leverage an additional $12.3 million in private sector and other matching funding, and attract $40 million in new foreign direct investment to the region.

“The Windsor-Essex region is the ‘automobility capital of Canada’,” said Stephen MacKenzie, CEO and President, Invest WindsorEssex. “This investment builds upon the success of our existing initiatives and allows us to develop new action plans and enhance current programming in the automobility entrepreneurship space. Capitalizing on our location advantages, highly skilled workforce and growing automobility sector, this funding will continue to encourage diversification and continued prosperity in Windsor-Essex.”