An agri-food incubation centre in the Centre-du-Quebec region is now open for business.
The Centre d’innovation en transformation agroalimentaire de Nicolet (CITAN) was officially opened yesterday by Denis Lebel, minister of state for Canada Economic Development. It was established with $381,673 in non-repayable funding from the federal government and the Corporation de développement économique de Nicolet .
In a prepared release, the federal government said the Centre-du-Québec region enjoys strong agricultural potential, ranking third in the province in terms of number of farming operations on its territory. CITAN will incubate small enterprises operating in emerging sectors and looking to expand their commercial activities.
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“CITAN promises to promote local entrepreneurship by helping businesses in the agri-food sector boost their sales and revenues as they make the transition from small-scale to industrial production,” Lebel said in the release. “The projected growth will result in the creation of 28 new jobs over the next four years while helping keep young people in the region.”
The financial assistance will enable CITAN to offer its tenants high-quality infrastructure as well as management guidance services and administrative support.
