New Business Incubator Officially Opened

Entrepreneurs in Nova Scotia have a new facility to help them develop and launch products in the marketplace, build their businesses and create jobs.

The Perennia Innovation Centre was officially opened in Bible Hill today, Oct. 12. It is a business incubator to help companies that work with plant, animal or marine-based resources to create new products.

"We need to think about and do things differently to grow the agriculture industry and our economy," said Agriculture Minister John MacDonell. "The sky is the limit at the Perennia Innovation Centre where curiosity, creativity and business savvy combine to help us find new ways to grow the agriculture industry, which is the backbone of rural Nova Scotia."

The centre is housed in a 25,000-square-foot, environmentally friendly building in Perennia Innovation Park. It leases space that can be custom designed to meet clients' needs, as well as labs and other spaces that can be used on a fee-for-service basis.

"This centre is a great example of how our government is focused on improving the agricultural sector's capacity for innovation and helping it continue as a significant economic contributor for our region," said MP Scott Armstrong. "Growing Forward 2, the recently signed agricultural policy framework, will continue to support industry leadership to foster business development and seize new markets for Canadian products through strategic investments in innovation and market development."

The centre was built with $5.9 million in provincial and $3.3 million in federal funding, including money from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and the federal-provincial AgriFlexibility agreement.

"This facility is a good step forward for agriculture," said Beth Densmore, president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture. "Having the innovation centre available to test new ventures and products will reduce the burden of setup and lab expenses for our agricultural entrepreneurs."

The centre helps clients work with Dalhousie University's Faculty of Agriculture, researchers and students. Students can gain valuable experience with companies at the centre through course work, internships and part-time positions.

The centre is one of several entities that came together in 2012 to form Perennia, a fully integrated agriculture, food and bio-resource company. More information about the Perennia and the centre is available at www.perennia.ca .

More information on Growing Forward 2 is available at www.agr.gc.ca/growingforward2 .