Item - 2013.ED20.4

The recently adopted Economic Development Strategy, Collaborating for Competitiveness, identifies small business growth as one of the core strategies for advancing job growth in the City.  This Report seeks to strengthen the City's programs directed at the incubation component of small business encouragement: better focussed support for the incubation network and approval in principle to help expand the Toronto Food Business Incubator beyond its pilot stage.

The Business Incubation and Commercialization (BIC) program supports small business success through community partners that offer an array of targeted entrepreneurial incubation programs, services, and resources.  These include, among others, private office/ studio space, shared industrial equipment, business advisory/ mentoring services, product development support, market testing, access to capital, and networking opportunities.  The city commissioned a consultant to undertake a review of the BIC Program to improve effectiveness, enhance flexibility, and build capacity for growth.

The Toronto Food Business Incubator (TFBI) currently plays a small but key role in the BIC program, providing entrepreneurs with food production space and business advisory support.  TFBI is now at a critical juncture.  Increasing demand for entry into the program, combined with a need by existing client companies to grow and expand operations, has created a challenge for this pilot incubator.  TFBI must move to larger space to enable long term sustainability or close its doors to a growing number of start-up and early stage food entrepreneurs.  A growth and investment strategy is required to facilitate this move and to ensure business incubation programs and services continue to be provided to accelerate the success of new and emerging food businesses in Toronto - one of the largest production centres in North America.