TORONTO, January 15, 2015

Canada’s financial services and technology sectors are heading into a new era of innovation and collaboration.

Working in partnership, Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) and the Toronto Financial Services Alliance (TFSA) will connect companies and institutions in the country’s largest financial services cluster with Ontario’s innovation ecosystem including its academic community and technology companies, to address individual businesses and industry challenges.

“OCE is pleased to be working with the TFSA to find made-in-Ontario solutions to address current and future issues, opportunities and threats,” says Dr. Tom Corr, President and CEO of OCE. “Every day we work with leading innovators, educators and technology companies, and we know that they have the skills and knowledge needed to assist the modern financial services industry.”

Through a collaboration agreement signed today, OCE will work with the TFSA to identify and develop collaboration and networking opportunities.

“The Toronto region’s financial services sector already ranks in the global top ten and is an international leader in a number of financial sub-sectors,” says Janet Ecker, President and CEO of the TFSA. “However in an increasingly competitive global market place we want to ensure that the region’s financial industry has access to the most innovative technologies. We believe that by effectively tapping into local solutions Toronto’s financial services sector will not only continue to grow as a world leader, but the financial technology ecosystem being created will attract businesses, jobs and investment into the region.”

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The initiative not only addresses a pressing industry need, it will position Ontario as a leader in fields such as cybersecurity and strengthen its reputation as a technology hub.

“Combining Ontario’s academic and start-up expertise with Toronto’s financial services knowledge is a catalyst for the development of new, cutting-edge technologies for the financial technology sector that will bolster Ontario’s position as a global financial hub,” says Reza Moridi, Minister of Research and Innovation and Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities. “This collaboration will help us innovate the next generation of technologies and will create an environment to stimulate job creation and economic opportunities across the board.”

The first event under this agreement will be a partnering forum at the end of February. This will include discussions between financial institutions, academia, technology start-ups and business incubators about challenges and opportunities the sector faces and ways to address them.

The OCE-TFSA partnership will also be on display as part of OCE’s Discovery 2015 conference and trade show April 27-28 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

 About Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) Inc. (www.oce-ontario.org):

Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) drives the commercialization of cutting-edge research to build the economy of tomorrow and secure Ontario’s global competitiveness. OCE fosters the training and development of the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs and is a key partner with Ontario’s industry, universities, colleges, research hospitals, domestic and foreign investors, and government ministries. A champion of leading-edge technologies, best practices, innovation, entrepreneurship and research, OCE invests in such areas as advanced health, information and communications technology, digital media, advanced materials and manufacturing, agri-food, aerospace, transportation, energy, and the environment including water and mining. OCE is a key partner in delivering Ontario’s Innovation Agenda as a member of the province’s Ontario Network of Entrepreneurs (ONE), which helps Ontario-based entrepreneurs and industry rapidly grow their company and create jobs. Learn more at www.onebusiness.ca

About the TFSA:

The Toronto Financial Services Alliance (TFSA) is a unique, public–private partnership dedicated to growing Toronto region’s financial services cluster and building it as a “top ten” global financial services centre. Established in 2001, TFSA is a collaboration involving three levels of government, the financial services industry and academia. Working collaboratively with industry and government, it builds international awareness of the advantages offered by the Toronto region and works with financial services companies from around the world that are exploring business opportunities in Toronto. To leverage the financial industry’s global reputation for stability, TFSA established the Global Risk Institute in Financial Services. To capitalize on Toronto region’s talent advantages, it also established the Centre of Excellence in Financial Services Education. For more information, please check the website at www.tfsa.ca

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Media contacts:

Stuart Green
Manager, Media Relations
Ontario Centres of Excellence
416-861-1092 x 1022
stuart.green@oce-ontario.org

Marta Andradzka
Marketing Manager
TFSA
416-933-6788
marta.andradzka@tfsa.ca

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