Innovation Fund

Our team can help make your innovative solutions a reality. We fund Yukon innovators who are ready to start, grow or get to market.  

Whether you have a disruptive new solution, or an incremental adaption of an existing solution, our Innovation Fund can provide the funding and support to help you create or reimagine processes and practices, and/or design, develop or deploy your ideas to the world.

 

Funded by Government of Canada’s Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor) and Government of Yukon.

Innovation is the process of transforming an idea into something real, thereby creating value or wealth in new ways.

Caitlyn

Caitlyn MacMaster, Innovation Officer

We’re here to help you make it real  

The introduction of a new product, service, process, technique, or way of doing business can help shape and reimagine the future, improve quality of life, create wealth, diversify and drive the economy in the North and beyond.          

Whether revolutionary or evolutionary, your innovation can involve technology, processes, societal adoption/accessibility and/or business models. 

Our Innovation Fund is geared toward supporting Yukoners who need financial support to advance the technological readiness of their ideas, effect the change necessary to create space and capacity within the local economy or connect with industry to support market deployment.   

Whether you are developing the basic principles or preparing for scaled deployment of your idea, we can help. 

Whether you need $1,000 or $50,000 to get your project started, our project officers are open to discussing your budget and the feasibility of your project. The initial assessment process will dive into: 

The potential of your idea to contribute to economic development and/or economic diversification

Including but not limited to: 

  • Job creation  
  • Diversification  
  • Import displacement 
  • Export creation  

  • Extra territorial direct investment 

Expertise and capacity
  • Personal and organisational 
  • In house vs external 
  • Time resource availability vs project timeline 
Project cost
  • Scale  
  • Budget cost effectiveness  
Project benefits
  • Benefits to society, environment, and community 
Path to growth

Including but not limited to market potential 

Success stories

SUPstick
SUPstick TM

Brennan Innovations 
Whitehorse, Yukon

Since 2016, Joel Brennan worked with our team to design and iterate the prototype, securing a patent along the way. Our wrap-around services and funding for mass manufacturing accelerated Joel’s progress toward commercialization.

Aurum skincare

Aurum Skincare
BioBoreal Labs
Dawson, Yukon

Winning the 2017 Yukon Innovation Prize lead Elise McCormick and Joanne Sherrard to launch their Aurum Skincare line.

“Thanks to the financial support made available through I&E, we were able to get to market much sooner than we had originally anticipated. The ongoing access I&E provides to startup funding, coaching and industry specialists is key to making our entrepreneurial dreams a reality."

Yukon Soaps

Yukon Soaps Company

Mayo, Yukon

The Mayo-based personal care products company is proudly Indigenous owned and operated. Founder Joella Hogan, a citizen of the First Nation of Na Cho Nyak Dun, is committed to developing her business in her community and providing employment opportunities there.

"Thanks to I&E, I was able to grow my business and provide meaningful skills and empowerment to young women in my rural community."