When businesses need specialized mentoring, opportunities for skill development, and access to a network of resources, Ignite provides a path from launch to success. Based in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Ignite spearheads growth in integrated economic development by implementing a variety of programs that foster an atmosphere conducive to the prosperity of the area and its enterprises, creating a go-to place for entrepreneurs and enterprises looking to start up or expand.
Ignite’s teams support business owners through every step of the process, from launching a company, to expanding, to maintaining long-term success, using a variety of programs, tools, and professional guidance that make it simpler to succeed in the ever-evolving business world.
Part of Ignite’s drive to success involves Vision 2030: A Path Forward, a daring regional economic development plan intended to boost regional businesses, draw in capital, and establish long-term employment in Fredericton and New Brunswick’s Capital Region. The four priority sectors of the region—the knowledge economy, creative industries, defence, and natural resources—are the emphasis, with Vision 2030 representing the voices of the area and offering a framework for transitioning from strategy to action. More than just a blueprint, it’s a commitment to cooperation, innovation, and equitable progress.
“Vision 2030 is very much a regional strategy,” says CEO Sarah Corey Hollohan of the plan that took more than 18 months to develop. “We took the path of a collaboration model with many of the stakeholders and partners in the region, as well as private industry, whether that’s job seekers or employees.”
With Ignite responsible for moving the economic agenda forward in 13 communities and the surrounding rural district, it’s important not to lose focus, she stresses. “There are moments where we need to pivot and look at how we deliver items, but we must stay on the path to ensure we have momentum about where we should be building our future.”
That includes looking at the region’s strengths, current assets, and how to do a better job promoting, growing, accelerating, and not shooting for the moon. “We have to make sure our research institutions are engaged and our students, whether domestic or international, are engaged in the local market,” adds Hollohan.
The knowledge economy, in particular, is very much a foundational sector, with post-secondary and research institutions feeding into everything else. “The knowledge economy feeds into the local market, into a creative and cultural community, and into keeping youth here,” she says.
Traditional natural resources encompass goods and commodities, but also the technology that goes with it. Recently, the Sisson Mine—a major project out of the Federal Government in Ottawa that falls within the Capital Region—was announced, with Ignite tasked with finding a supply chain and making sure it is done in an environmentally responsible way. “It’s about getting our local suppliers engaged,” Hollohan says, “and it’s getting the community ready for housing development.”
The creative sector is well-established and continues to grow, supported by post-secondary institutions and cultural assets across the Capital Region. The fine arts field is very strong, especially in the Fredericton region, with the Beaverbrook Art Gallery as an anchor, but there are also great institutions at the University of New Brunswick, and as the area was very strong in film at one point, Ignite is aiming to bring that back as well.
Defence is a “no-brainer” for the area, with Base Gagetown located in nearby Oromocto. Where Ignite is doubling down is around cyber security, a “massive” sector. “It has always been anchored with what the University of New Brunswick is doing through the Canadian Institute for Cybersecurity,” Hollohan says. When you add national defence to the mix, “it gets interesting fast, because now all of their infantry needs to be trained in cyber, whether it’s deploying it, detecting it, or using it. It’s a huge opportunity for us.”
The team behind all of this is made up of passionate, community-focused professionals committed to driving impact across the region, says Hollohan. “The passion starts at the community level, and when I speak with colleagues at the provincial or federal level, I often say it’s easier to stay energized in this role, because we’re the ones connecting directly with people, businesses, and communities every day.”
That passion also comes in handy when supporting the area’s various urban and rural entities, she adds. “The synergy between urban and rural is really neat to watch, and it’s taken a while to get everyone to see this type of thinking.” It’s not a large region, and there’s not a large population, she adds; while there are opportunities for the workforce to come into the urban centre, there is a lot of strength in the rural communities because of their space and zoning opportunities, including natural resources and traditional agriculture, and a huge opportunity around food production that Hollohan thinks the federal government will invest in.
“There are economies of scale to understand,” she emphasizes. “If one person wins, we all win. Oromocto is a great example, because they have the Base. They may not think an injection of 1,000 new soldiers being trained will affect them, but the benefits extend well beyond Oromocto, with neighbouring communities also experiencing increased economic activity, population growth, and demand for services.”
Ignite’s various incentives and programs offered to new and existing businesses come to fruition through the organization’s supportive design. The startup side includes an incubator called Planet Hatch, a physical space with 70 members working out of the co-working space, as well as a series of offices available for rent. “Whether they’re in the ideation or validation stage, they need us,” Hollohan says. “They’re looking for a spot to work out of to maybe decrease that isolation, build a network, and have access to our services.”
Those services include a startup team that helps with writing a business plan, improving marketing, and assisting with an Impact Loan disbursed on behalf of the Federal Government, as well as a wide range of programs offered across various stages of the business journey.
“The startup ecosystem is a very different one than [what is experienced by] some of the companies we work with in the growth and expansion phase,” Hollohan explains. “In the growth and expansion phase, we have business development officers that look after these folks, as they’re typically faced with challenges around pricing, hiring, writing a job description, entering new markets, scaling operations, and navigating growth strategy decisions.”
There are also sales programs teaching how to identify a lead and how to close a sale, as well as a partnership with the province on how to enter a new export market.
When a company gets a little bigger, Ignite then does a handoff to the Provincial and Federal Governments who can provide their own expertise. “These businesses have done some self-improvement. We think they’re in really good shape, so this is what they need help with next,” Hollohan says. “We also try to groom them a little to make sure they can move on to the next phase if they want. We have a lot of companies that are very happy at the stage they’re at, and that’s fine, too.”
It’s all relationship-based, she adds, with extensive fostering of connections between Ignite and other resources. “The value of Ignite is the value of our network. It’s our job to either have the answer or to know the person who has the answer. If we can’t do either of those, we’re not doing it right.”
Ignite’s widespread knowledge of other community partners, delivery agents, and stakeholders is paramount in best serving its clients. Right now, Ignite is in a “really good spot” in terms of collaboration, particularly with Vision 2030 fostering the combined goals of serving and referring clients who have come through the Ignite system. “We’re very much aligned on that,” says Hollohan.
Other Ignite services include quarterly job fairs in the community, one-on-one matching, a Connector Program, and specific programs in collaboration with post-secondary institutions that ensure international students are integrated to encourage community involvement and longer retention rates. Any newcomer that comes to the Capital Region can access these support systems, so no one gets lost, Hollohan emphasizes.
During COVID-19 in particular, new residents unable to communicate with the emergency room triage system were able to use flashcards created by Ignite programs to encourage communication without a translator. Today, that is a service now provided in the local ER.
“It’s results like these that Ignite thrives on—identifying opportunities and delivering solutions that support the broader community,” Hollohan says. “We don’t need to own the outcome. If others are able to build on that work, it reflects the strength of the ecosystem. Our focus is on creating shared progress and continuing to move the region forward together, building momentum and inviting others to be part of that progress.”
Hollohan believes Ignite has proven the success of its model and its impact in the community. “We track everything we do, and we’re very transparent about our goals—how we’re going to go do it and measure it,” she says. “We take out a lot of the hesitation around, ‘is this possible? Can we do it?’ Give us a shot. We’ll do our best, and we offer a really good return on investment. We’re very good at keeping that indicator top of mind and being successful with it, which opens up a lot of new opportunities for us. At some point, we’ll eventually have to say no, but so far, none of us has learned how to say that word.”
