Invest Ottawa opens for business

Ottawa's official hub for entrepreneurs opened Tuesday with an expanded mission to move beyond high-tech startups.

Invest Ottawa, formerly known as the Ottawa Centre for Regional Innovation, now offers support and office space to businesses in fields such as green energy, defence, and digital media.

Mayor Jim Watson said the change wasn't just a rebranding exercise but a "total rejuvenation with a clear and defined focus for economic development in our community."

Invest Ottawa has a $3.6 million annual budget and a new home on Aberdeen Street, off Preston Street.

Ottawa city councillor Stephen Blais said it's a good investment for the city and said the focus on start-ups remains important to get the local economy growing.

Moving away from Silicon Valley North focus

"Start-up companies create millions of jobs annually, far more than established companies, so being able to incubate small companies, giving them the resources they need to start here in Ottawa will ensure that we have that diversification and hopefully create that secondary base in our economy," said Blais.

Harley Finkelstein, chief platform officer with online commerce site Shopify, said he's pleased the city is moving the focus away from the old Silicon Valley North model.

Finkelstein said he met with OCRI representatives in 2005 and found that they were still talking about the way things used to be, and not how they were now.

"Totally, I think it's a total paradigm shift, that companies are incubating outside of Kanata," said Finkelstein.

"We're in the ByWard market with a bunch of other cool companies...it's encouraging and I'm really excited about it," he said.