The provincial agency will allocate up to $25 million over an initial three years to programs focused on early-stage firms, specific sectors and scale-ups. The Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund (OCIF) is also seeking accelerator proposals, with organizations receiving up to $8 million over five years from a pool of up to $20 million. The municipal government-backed initiative is also looking for a fund manager to establish a $15-million fund seeded with $7.5 million in public money. (The Logic)

Talking point: OCIF chair Mark Blackwell said the organization and Alberta Innovates will likely partner on due diligence and selection for accelerators in or looking to set up in Calgary. Jointly backing some of the same programs is “the ideal outcome,” he said in an interview, since the provincial agency’s funding can be front-loaded while the municipal fund tends to pay out later in the life of a project. As The Logic reported in September 2020, Toronto’s MaRS has been pitching a $60-million accelerator in Calgary for more than a year. OCIF is looking to back “local-based organizations that have an existing footprint, track record [and] infrastructure,” but has also had conversations prior to issuing its proposal request with MaRS and U.S. accelerator giant Techstars, according to Blackwell. Partnering with provincial agencies and the federal government—which has funded OCIF grant recipients like Attabotics—will provide “more firepower to write larger checks” and grow local startups, he said.