Community Partners

Thunder Bay has a wide variety of services and resources available for you to help with your business development. Check out some of the links below to know who we work with and how they can help you get started!

The Thunder Bay & District Entrepreneur Centre provide a number of resources and programs designed to help you launch and grow your business.

PARO Centre for Women's Enterprise provides programs and services to women across Northern, Northeastern, Eastern, South Eastern, and Central Ontario (excluding the Greater Toronto Area) who are ready to start, grow or build new opportunities.

The Northwestern Ontario Innovation Centre’s goal is to help the innovative companies of Northwestern Ontario to start, grow, and succeed. The Innovation Centre has resources and programs geared towards innovative companies.

A not-for-profit Aboriginal Financial Institution serving entrepreneurs, businesses and communities in Northern Ontario. They offer a variety of services to support Aboriginal business and economic development, including financing, business support, community planning, and workshops and bookkeeping training.

As a Community Futures Development Corporation (CFDC), Thunder Bay Ventures finances new businesses and expansions, provide business services and referrals and fund economic development projects in the Thunder Bay Census Metropolitan Area (CMA).

The Ontario Co-op Council is an Ontario-based, not-for-profit social enterprise founded in 1964. We work to promote, develop and innovate co-operatives and social enterprises (which we collectively call collective enterprises) by Ontario, we are leading players in community economic development, we conduct research and social innovation, we are experts in organizational management and we create international business relationships between collective enterprises. here and elsewhere.

BDC, the Business Development Bank of Canada and the only financial institution devoted exclusively to entrepreneurs. BDC helps create and develop strong Canadian businesses through financing, advisory services and capital, with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises.

Bioenterprise is Canada’s Food & Agri-Tech Engine, bringing 15+ years of industry experience to help businesses Connect, Innovate & Grow! Bioenterprise uses its sector-savvy Service Partner network to offer Intellectual Property, Regulatory, Legal, Talent, Sales, Marketing, Finance and Investment advice.

The Northern Ontario Angels is the #1 Angel Organization in North America for Northern Ontario entrepreneurs (looking for growth capital) and angel investors (looking for investments). The creative concept and foundation of this network was developed to take Northern Ontario businesses to the next level.  NOA is continually growing, developing and updating it’s Angel Investment Groups throughout the north and around the World. Presently, NOA supports Angel Investment Groups in Sudbury, North Bay, Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Timmins/Kapuskasing and Kenora.

Legal Support

Ingenuity works with local community partners to provide better information and prices for our students. If you are looking for Legal advice or help with incorporating here is 3 offices locally that we recommend:

Buset LLP:

1121 Barton St, Thunder Bay, ON, P7B 5N3
(807) 623-2500

Cheadles:

Suite 2000, 715 Hewitson Street, Thunder Bay, ON P7B 6B5
(807) 622-6821

Weiler, Maloney, Nelson:

1001 William St, Suite 201, Thunder Bay, P7B 6M1
(807) 623-1111