By The Canadian Press on January 22, 2024.
TORONTO – Global startup accelerator Plug and Play is entering Canada’s fintech market with Visa Canada as a founding sponsor. Visa says the partnership comes as Canada’s fintech industry is seeing significant potential with an expected compound annual growth rate of 25 per cent through 2029. It says the partnership will build on Visa’s existing fintech program with the accelerator in the U.S., where it launched a program focused on increasing diversity and inclusion in the sector. Plug and Play opened an office in Mississauga, Ont., in 2020 and has since expanded to Calgary and Edmonton. Besides fintech, areas of focus for the accelerator in Canada include sustainability, – with Shell Canada signing on as a partner in that program in December – health and food supplies. Silicon Valley-based Plug and Play says it has more than 400 corporate partners and has operations in more than 50 locations across five continents. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 22, 2024. 8