BSE Institute, Ryerson University and Ryerson Futures Inc. (RFI) from Toronto, Canada signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today to create a BSEI-Ryerson Digital Media Zone. This will be a new India-based incubator for entrepreneurs to fast-track their startups and connect with mentors, customers and investors. The collaboration between BIL, Ryerson and RFI lays the groundwork to help young entrepreneurs expand into both the Indian and Canadian markets and also touches on a broad spectrum of areas in the domain of entrepreneurship development and professional development education.
This incubator will be located in the BSE Institute building and will also be engaging with angels and investors to provide funding opportunity to the start-ups. Sheldon Levy, President and Vice-Chancellor of Ryerson University said that this incubator will have experts from Canada and the university to train the young entrepreneurs on building and moving their ventures to the next stages.
"This initiative is an important first step towards creating a new bridge between Canada and India that provides young entrepreneurs unprecedented international opportunities," said Levy.
Ambarish Datta, MD & CEO, BSE Institute said that through this alliance, prospective startups will get mentored by experts in the industry. "Entrepreneurship and innovation are critical for the growth of any economy, as has been evidenced in the USA, Germany, Israel and many other countries around the world. Youth unemployment and underemployment is prevalent in India and needs to be addressed on a war footing. Setting up of new enterprises can contribute in a major way to address this issue," he said.
The BIL-Ryerson Incubation Center (BRIC) will offer startups expert guidance and mentoring to refine their concept, help them get their business up and running and also connect them with investors for securing capital.
"The signing of today’s MOU enables us to forge networks of angel investors across Canada and India. These initiatives will help increase the odds of success for early-stage start-ups while giving them access to new markets," added Matt Saunders, President and Managing Director of Ryerson Futures Inc.
The BIL-Ryerson Incubation Center will be built on the lines of the Digital Media Zone, a unique model developed at Ryerson University that has attracted international attention. The Digital Media Zone at Ryerson University (DMZ) is one of Canada's largest incubators and multidisciplinary co-working spaces for young entrepreneurs. Infused with the energy and resources of downtown Toronto, this hub of digital media innovation, collaboration and commercialization is home to both startups and industry solution-providers.
Emerging leaders’ fast-track their product launches and grow their companies in this supportive community by connecting with mentors, customers and each other. Since opening in April 2010, the DMZ has stimulated Canada's digital economy by incubating and accelerating 92 startups and launching 142 projects.
The first initiative through the partnership between BIL, Ryerson University and RFI will be the launch of 'The Next Big Idea' competition. The competition seeks to discover India’s most innovative companies who are looking to use a presence in Ontario, Canada, as a vehicle to expand to North America. The winner will receive the opportunity to incubate their company for three weeks in the Digital Media Zone at Ryerson University (DMZ), including flights and hotels. Using the DMZ as a landing pad, the entrepreneurs will receive mentorship, business development advice and gain valuable international experience. The competition opens August 12 and closes August 30, 2013.
