Red Deer Polytechnic (RDP) and the Red Deer & District Chamber of Commerce are partnering with Mount Royal University’s (MRU) Growth Catalyst program to create a first-of-its-kind business accelerator for central Alberta.

A business accelerator is a program to give companies access to mentorship, investors, support and other educational components to help them become more stable businesses.

Growth Catalyst is a scale-up accelerator program for developing technology and service-based businesses with sales between $2-100 million, rather than start-ups, to help expand their enterprise. The program is based on the research of MRU Professor Simon Raby, Ph.D. and his team, who identified gaps for serving small to medium-sized businesses that still have exponential growth potential.

The program’s hybrid model combines in-person learning with real-time coaching and implementation, supported by a cohort of local experts. Officials say the seven-month program allows companies to reimagine, rediscover and realize new growth opportunities.

With a commitment to serving all of Alberta, program officials say their fourth cohort will focus on central Alberta, from Rocky Mountain House to Ester, and operate from RDP.

“We are proud to partner with Mount Royal University and the Red Deer & District Chamber of Commerce to support the growth and innovation of central Alberta businesses. This collaboration, combined with Red Deer Polytechnic’s education, training, and applied research opportunities in state-of-the-art facilities, will create an ecosystem that will help to ignite industrial and economic prosperity across the province,” said Richard Longtin, Associate Vice President of External Relations at RDP.

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