By: Fatema Fatakdawala

Are you an entrepreneur interested in government funding to commercialize your idea? Are you an SME looking for government support to grow your company? Would you like to gain insight on how to apply for federal and provincial funding for business growth? All you have to do is have your morning cup of coffee with us at our upcoming Breakfast with the Experts Session! Mark your calendar for November 7, 2012 – from 7:30 am to 10:00 am and join us at the Centre for Health and Safety Innovation, 5110 Creekbank Road, Mississauga, ON, L4W 0A1. Click here to register.

So who are these government funding experts you are waking up early to meet?

First up, we have Dan Mathers. Currently, Dan is the MaRS IAF Investment Director  for Southwestern Ontario, and is responsible for driving all of the investments in the region. He is also a part of the executive team at P&P Optica, a very promising growth company in the Waterloo Region. In addition, Dan is currently a member of the Boards of Directors for several for-profit and not-for-profit organizations.

Stuart McKeen is our industry speaker who is a dual manager (Manager of Innovation and Manager of the Agency’s “People Initiatives”) at FedDev Ontario. Stuart develops and implements programs to stimulate entrepreneurship with FedDev. As the senior Policy Analyst in the Commercialization Branch of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, he has also lead several international research and commercialization missions.

Our entrepreneurial speaker is Alex Hodgsin, Founder and Managing Director of 1DegreeBio, an independent resource for life scientists to share reviews on products and service providers. She was named one of 50 Women to Watch in Tech by Femme-o-nomics in 2011. She is also an early winner of VentureStart funding.

So come out and join us. You won’t regret it as our speakers are geared with tips and tools on the best strategies to apply for government funding for you.

Fatema joins the RIC team as the Communications Officer responsible for marketing, social media, event and web management. She is a graduate student pursuing her final year in the Master of Biotechnology program at the University of Toronto Mississauga.