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Zayzoon, Carbon Upcycling tap into $3.5M OCIF Express program

The Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund (OCIF), alongside the Government of Alberta, has announced a new $3.5 million funding stream, OCIF Express, designed to meet the urgent needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The organization says that OCIF Express will help high-impact, one-year projects access funding more quickly.

The program emphasizes job creation and in-house training, aiming to support businesses in hiring skilled workers and building workforces equipped to meet future needs.

“Calgary is a city forged by innovators, dreamers, and doers, and OCIF Express is designed to help accelerate their impact. Each of these projects is supporting our local economy, fostering innovation, and helping build a strong more competitive workforce,” said Brad Parry, CEO of the Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund and president and CEO of Calgary Economic Development. “Through OCIF and the Express program, with expedited access to capital, we are striving to support the elements we need to ensure our city-wide innovation ecosystem continues to flourish.”

Supported by $1.2 million from the province, OCIF Express is funding 23 companies which are expected to create over 150 jobs and train almost 90 Calgarians.

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🤝 Funding, Deals, and Partnerships

• Alberta commits $15M over 3 years to Mitacs. The provincial funding, alongside funding from the federal government and industry, is expected to enable the program to take on 3,000 students. CTV News

• Big investment from Calgary’s F3 Networks fuels fibre-optic expansion in Red Deer. Fuelled by a “historic” $168 million investment from F3, the project is set to utilize more than 400 kilometres of fibre optic cable to deliver reliable, high-speed internet to residents of Red Deer, according to a statement from the Canadian companies. Calgary.Tech

📰 Need To Know

• Mélanie Joly, Evan Solomon to run newly split Industry and Innovation portfolios in Prime Minister Carney’s cabinet. Since Carney’s election win, industry groups have been urging his government to have a renewed focus on long-standing issues that they say have plagued Canadian tech. Betakit

• MedicAlert introducing technology that will allow 911 dispatchers to access records. MedicAlert bracelets are well known to most Canadians -- a distinctive piece of jewelry that allows first responders to identify medical conditions in emergencies. CTV News 

• Foresight 50 returns to spotlight top cleantech ventures in Calgary. Foresight Canada is now accepting applications for its fifth annual Foresight 50 program, which spotlights 50 of the country’s most investible cleantech ventures to a global network of investors. Calgary.Tech

• Bonus Episode: AI, Dentistry, and Passionate Entrepreneurial Resilience with Amreesh Khanna. In this bonus episode of The Founder Mindset, Leah sits down with Dr. Amreesh Khanna, Founder of OraQ, a groundbreaking dental AI company. Thin Air Labs

• Prairie Fire: How Startup TNT ignited Alberta’s investment scene. StartupTNT transformed their weekly happy hour meetups into becoming Canada's most active angel investment network, connecting founders with funders and reshaping prairie entrepreneurship one community at a time. Shift by Alberta Innovates

• What mesh Calgary 2025 revealed about the future of innovation in Canada. If innovation is Canada’s great economic hope, why does it still feel so fragile? Digital Journal

💡 Opportunities

C100 Fellows and Growth Programs | June 15

• The C100’s programs connect high-potential founders and executives to a global network of seasoned entrepreneurs, operators, and investors. Over the course of a year, participants gain the insights, mentorship, and connections needed to scale faster and smarter.