Ignition Fund to support early-stage companies

Creating jobs for Islanders -

A $25,000 grant from the provincial government’s Ignition Fund in 2016 helped Suzanne Keough expand her one-year-old Rawsome Juice Company at just the right time.

Applications are now being accepted (www.innovationpei.com) for 2018 grants, which are awarded to new and innovative business ideas and the entrepreneurs that drive them. Keough said her grant helped Rawsome  -- Prince Edward Island’s first organic cold-pressed juice bar – increase its capacity and move to a new location, and plans for another expansion are in the works.

“The Ignition Fund grant really helped me get out of the gate and move to the next phase of my business plan,” she said. “The funding allowed me to purchase more equipment and add the finishing touches that have really helped my business to grow and succeed.”

Over the Ignition Fund’s five-year history it has supported 38 early stage companies. Start-up businesses or entrepreneurs who apply must be committed to establishing and operating a new business in this province. 

“The Ignition Fund is one way we are helping innovative, hard-working entrepreneurs get their business off the ground or prepare to commercialize a product or service,” said Economic Development and Tourism Minister Chris Palmer. “Combined with new supports for small business announced in our 2018-19 budget -- like the Small Business Investment Grant and tax breaks for small businesses -- we are putting small, early stage Island companies in a better position to succeed than ever before.”

To find more information or to apply to the Ignition Fund visit: https://www.innovationpei.com

Media contact:
Andrew Sprague
asgsprague@gov.pe.ca