CAN Health Network and Communitech Partner to Accelerate Health Care Innovation in Canada
Kitchener, ON, Nov. 2, 2021 /CNW/ - The Coordinated Accessible National (CAN) Health Network today announced its strategic partnership with Canada's leading innovation hub, Communitech. This first-of-its-kind national partnership will foster growth for Canadian tech companies and cut red tape to connect domestic tech firms to procurement opportunities through CAN Health's integrated network.
CAN Health, a federally-funded program focused on growing domestic health tech solutions and supporting companies to scale across Canada, will work with Communitech to identify top-tier solutions that meet public sector procurement needs. Together, this partnership will help strengthen Canada's health care system while helping more domestic innovators access critical sales opportunities in the Canadian market. This is a long-standing, signal pain point for health tech founders and a roadblock to their success.
"This is a win for Canadian health tech and our nation's economy that will not only foster growth and create jobs, but will also bring much-needed innovation to our health care system," said Chris Albinson, CEO of Communitech. "By bringing the strengths of our networks together, this collaboration will also further accelerate the commercialization of Canadian IP, creating the perfect landscape for more companies to access scalable procurement opportunities."
Communitech, an innovation hub that supports more than 1,600 founders of technology startups, scale-ups and at-scale firms, also manages Canada's Tech Network, a well-established network of 28 regional innovation hubs across the country. This partnership, part of Communitech's recently announced refreshed corporate strategy, will play an instrumental role in ensuring players from all over Canada's innovation economy can effectively respond to real challenges in the health sector.
"Together with Communitech, we are focused on connecting made-in-Canada innovative solutions to the real-world issues facing our nation's health care system," said Dr. Dante Morra, Chair and Lead of CAN Health Network. "Now is the time to seize the shared capabilities of our growing, national integrated health care market and Communitech's mature network of 28 innovation hubs in order to build prosperity for Canada."
CAN Health and Communitech already share a success story in common. Waterloo Region's Axonify, a longstanding Communitech member company, is currently working on a CAN Health Network commercialization project, adapting their frontline employee training and communications platform to meet the needs of the health sector - starting at Waterloo Region's Grand River Hospital to improve staff accreditation preparation.
Both CAN Health Network and Communitech are proud partners of the federal government and share a goal of making Canada one of the top health sector hubs in the world. Together, they will work to unlock the full potential of Canadian innovation in both the public and private sectors and help companies scale to own the podium as world-class, global leaders.
ABOUT CAN HEALTH NETWORK
The CAN Health Network is a Canada-first approach to technology adoption. It helps break down barriers to scaling in the healthcare system and provides an environment for companies to scale to their full potential. Currently operating in Ontario, Western and Atlantic Canada, the CAN Health Network plans to expand to Quebec and the North. The Network has received $3.5 million in 2019 and $3.25 million in 2021 from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), $3.5 million from PrairiesCan and PacifiCan, and most recently, $2.2 million from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency to build a national platform that harnesses the purchasing power of healthcare organizations. To learn more about the CAN Health Network, visit www.canhealthnetwork.ca.
ABOUT COMMUNITECH
Communitech was launched in 1997 by a group of founders committed to making Waterloo Region a global tech leader. Today, Communitech is Canada's leading innovation hub, supporting a community of more than 1,600 founders of startups, scale-ups and at-scale companies on their journey to a billion dollars in annual revenue.
Communitech helps founders start, grow and succeed in three distinct ways:
- Communitech is a convenor – the centre of gravity for founders, innovators and partners. It's a clubhouse and connector for those building trust-based tech and world-class companies.
- Communitech delivers programs to help founders with what they need most – accelerating access to talent, sales and growth capital.
- Communitech is helping to build a world-leading ecosystem with trust at its core – making sure we have all the ingredients (and the brand) to help founders build successful companies, solve meaningful problems and secure Canada's position as the largest tech ecosystem on the planet.
SOURCE CAN Health Network
Alexis Fung-Fook, Manager, Communications & Marketing, CAN Health Network, [email protected], 416-300-2674; Candace Beres, Manager, Communications, Communitech, [email protected], 905-536-0311
Share this article