The funding and support landscape for entrepreneurs and businesses is shifting every day, which can make it challenging to stay up to date on the current incentives and opportunities available.

Our monthly Funding & Support sessions are an opportunity for businesses to connect with experts and service providers in the community and receive assistance in accessing resources. From government funding and grants to loans and hiring incentives, we seek to feature new organizations that can offer their insight into available entrepreneurial resources.

To kick start 2022, Accelerate Okanagan’s Community Manager, Alex Goodhew, is joined by Cheryl Serpanchy and Ara Negapatan of the Information and Communications Technology Council(ICTC) and Sandra Spencer from Innovation Canada. Cheryl and Ara will be discussing funding and work-integrated learning opportunities that are currently available for hiring students in the new year. Sandra will be sharing alternative resources and tools that the government has provided for entrepreneurs in Western Canada.

If your team is growing, and you’d like to learn about the funding opportunities available to hire and pay for a student employee, this event is for you.

About the Speakers

​​Cheryl Serpanchy is the Regional Coordinator at ICTC WIL Digital overseeing Western Canada. Cheryl has been living in British Columbia for over two decades as a fundraising Executive Director for many non-profit charities, and previously worked in the BC film and arts community. Cheryl is responsible for planning and implementing strategies to increase the profile of ICTC’s WIL grant programs for Western Canada.

Ara Negapatan is the Program Coordinator for Information and Communications Technology Council’s WIL e-Learning course program. Ara works with the WIL program developing, implementing, and managing to support the company strategy. Ara works to develop and adjust the project and program plans, and seeks ways to support employers and post-secondary students.

Sandra Spencer has spent the past 10+ years working in Canada’s innovation ecosystem. Prior to joining Innovation Canada as a Senior Innovation Advisor in Kelowna, Sandra worked with several organizations to provide coaching, program development and delivery to hundreds of startups, supporting in areas of business modelling, customer development, commercialization, growth, and financing.

This event will be held virtually to allow for safety and accessibility.