QUÉBEC CITY, Jan. 15, 2024 /CNW/ - As part of the Offensive de transformation numérique (OTN), the Québec government is granting a financial contribution of $23,624,964 to Inno-centre to support the continuation of its project providing business advice to innovative SMEs in all regions of Québec, launched in 2021.

The Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy, Minister Responsible for Regional Economic Development and Minister Responsible for the Metropolis and the Montréal Region, Mr. Pierre Fitzgibbon, made the announcement today.

Through this initiative, valued at more than $53.3 million, Inno-centre plans to support 700 SMEs from across Québec in assessing and developing their business strategies and their digital transformation efforts in order to accelerate their growth. The targeted businesses will thus benefit from quality advisory services, offered by Inno-centre and its professional and financial partners, to succeed in their digital shift, maximize their productivity and improve their competitiveness.

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“By supporting the continuation of Inno-centre's project, we are creating the winning conditions for more Québec businesses to make the digital shift. It is a necessary transformation to increase productivity in all our regions. Already, we see that a sample of businesses supported through this initiative has seen its productivity increase by 22%. We must keep going in this direction.”

Pierre Fitzgibbon, Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy, Minister Responsible for Regional Economic Development and Minister Responsible for the Metropolis and the Montréal Region

Highlights:

🔗Inno-Centre

• supports innovative SMEs in carrying out their growth and digital transformation projects. With more than thirty years of experience in advisory services, the organization offers SMEs a comprehensive and structured approach that includes strategic planning, a review of business functions, business and manufacturing processes, human resources and project management.
• As a reminder, in March 2021, the Québec government granted $20 million to Inno-centre to support the implementation of the project providing business advice to innovative SMEs in all regions of Québec.
• On that same date, the Québec government launched the

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🔗 OTN

• to support projects aimed at accelerating the digital shift of Québec businesses and fostering the growth of innovative SMEs through specialized support.
• As the latest budget provides an additional $50 million for the continuation of the OTN, government investments will reach $240 million by 2025.
• To date, $191.5 million has been invested through the OTN to support more than 35 initiatives. These will raise awareness among more than 150,000 businesses and support nearly 20,000 of them in their digital transformation efforts.

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Published by: Économie, Innovation et Énergie
In collaboration with: Office of the Minister Responsible for the Metropolis and the Montréal Region, Office of the Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy and Minister Responsible for Regional Economic Development

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Unofficial translation. The original press release was issued in French by the Ministère de l'Économie, de l'Innovation et de l'Énergie on January 15, 2024.