FedDev supports 24 Toronto-area projects

The Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev) has announced $18.4 million for 24 innovation projects in the Greater Toronto Area. The funding includes $9.4 million through FedDev's Investing in Business Innovation initiative to support 16 product development and commercialization projects for start-up companies. The start-up projects will leverage $33.9 million in additional financing, primarily from angel and venture capital financing. The agency's Prosperity Initiative will provide $5.9 million for three projects — $3.2 million to Fiera Foods Co to upgrade technology and expand food processing capacity, $2 million to outfit the new Ryerson Centre for Cloud and Context Aware Computing, and $750,000 to XMG Studio to mentor students and graduates working to commercialize digital media for mobile devices. These projects will leverage $19.4 million in private sector investment. FedDev's Youth STEM initiative will provide $1.8 million to encourage youth to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Finally, FedDev will contribute $1.3 million to the Scientists and Engineers in Business initiative to support three commercialization programs, attracting $2 million in seed capital...