6.1 – Who We Work With
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are vital to WD’s economic diversification mandate. SMEs are strong innovators, generate wealth, and create jobs for Canadians. They account for more than 90% of private sector employment in western Canada. To that end, WD directly supports SMEs by providing access to patient risk capital, as well as fostering the right business environment to ensure they have access to the support, expertise, and resources they need to flourish.
WD’s investments and support to SMEs have a real impact on western Canada’s economy. In the past five years, projects funded by WD have created over 9,400 jobs, and export sales of over $2.2 billion.
Businesses
WD makes direct investments (interest-free repayable funding) in western Canadian SMEs, enabling them to access talent, commercialize new products, adopt new technologies, and expand into new markets. WD also engages other departments and stakeholders in its pathfinding efforts to assist high-growth firms to access other federal and provincial programs.
Spotlight: ATTAbotics Inc.
ATTAbotics is a Calgary-based company that has created a new and extremely efficient warehousing system. Using a unique structure, robots, and patented software, the ATTAbotics system operates in a footprint that is only 8-12% of the size of a traditional warehouse system. The system uses one-tenth the staff, costs 50-60% less than traditional systems, and can save companies 75% of their warehousing and fulfillment costs.
As a start-up, ATTAbotics received $1.3 million under WD’s Western Innovation Initiative (WINN) to set up a manufacturing facility and fire-test the warehousing system. This investment created 117 jobs, 94 of which were for highly-qualified personnel, and $40 million in new sales. By 2019, the demand for the ATTAbotics system had far outstripped the original manufacturing capacity. Under the Business Scale-up and Productivity program, ATTAbotics was able to access $5 million in WD funding to triple that capacity.
WD funding programs were critical in helping ATTAbotics scale-up and expand, exemplifying how the department is helping high-growth companies scale-up.
Not-for-profits
WD works with not-for-profit organizations to foster the right environment so businesses can innovate, grow, and compete globally. Examples of not-for-profit organizations include incubators/accelerators, industry associations, prototyping centres, and post-secondary institutions.
Communities
WD provides support to western Canadian communities, big and small, to capitalize on economic growth and diversification opportunities, and lessen adverse economic and environmental challenges facing impacted communities. Examples include investing in Community Futures Organizations on a range of business advisory services targeting western Canadians, working with Indigenous communities to capitalize on business opportunities in the resource sectors, supporting communities transitioning away from coal, and assisting communities affected by natural disasters such as the Fort McMurray and BC wildfires.
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