January 24, 2024

Henry Bernick Entrepreneurship Centre coming to Sydenham Campus

In 2024, Georgian College’s Henry Bernick Entrepreneurship Centre (HBEC) will establish its Grey Bruce presence inside the Sydenham Campus in Owen Sound. The HBEC assists entrepreneurs to grow their businesses by connecting them to supports including training, business connections, funding and mentorship.

In Grey County alone there are more than 12,000 business, 70% are small to medium sized enterprises, demonstrating the need for accelerator services. The HBEC, Catapult Grey Bruce (established as a not-for-profit) and other business accelerators provide developing companies with supports scale up and stabilize. This may include growing their workforce, expanding products, or exporting to new markets.

Starting in 2024, a transition will begin from Catapult Grey Bruce to the Henry Bernick Centre. This transition will support area businesses, and Georgian College’s continued growth in the region.

“Catapult Grey Bruce is thrilled to be a part of this transition. From day one, our goal has been to deliver the highest level of support possible for local entrepreneurs. Moving into the HBEC will allow that to continue and will add even more opportunities for business owners in Grey Bruce,” said Courtney Denard, chair, Catapult Grey Bruce.

“The opportunity to collaborate on the extension of the Henry Bernick Entrepreneurship Centre in Grey and Bruce and deepen our partnerships in the region is deeply meaningful to Georgian College. We look forward to growing together,” said Dave Shorey, executive director of Georgian College’s Owen Sound Campus.

At the same time, the introduction of HBEC services locally will set the stage for possible future attraction of HBEC’s sister research and innovation services.

HBEC will establish its Grey Bruce presence with a dedicated business development manager who will be based out of Sydenham Campus to coordinate the new location.

Grey County Business Enterprise Centre staff will continue to provide referral services to the HBEC and act as local advisors for program development, maintaining Catapult as a program and enabling a pipeline throughout the business lifecycle.

The expanded partnership between Grey County and Georgian College supports the county in achieving deliverables set out in FedDev Ontario funding and aligns with priorities of the Economic Development, Tourism & Culture Master Plan.

 

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