AI for Business Leaders: Strategy, Decision‑Making & Automation
Innovate Niagara, in partnership with the City of Welland, is hosting a practical, hands‑on workshop focused on helping business owners and leaders understand how to apply AI in real business settings.
AI for Business Leaders: Strategy, Decision‑Making & Automation will explore how organizations can move beyond experimentation and begin using AI to support smarter decisions, improve efficiency, and drive growth.
Led by Serge Paquin, CEO of Skycomp Solutions, the session will combine strategic insights with practical applications. Participants will learn how to evaluate the return on investment of AI, identify potential risks, and build a clear implementation roadmap. The workshop will also cover how to use AI to analyze business data, automate workflows, track key metrics, and support day‑to‑day decision‑making.
📅 June 16, 2026 🕘 9:00 AM 📍 Welland International Flatwater Centre
This session is designed for business owners, operators, and leaders looking for a clear and practical starting point for integrating AI into their operations.
See what our clients & partners are up to this month!
BDC launches LIFT to help SMEs adopt AI and productivity-boosting technologies
LIFT (Lead with Innovation and Focus on Technology) is a new, $500 million program designed to help more than 1,000 Canadian SMEs adopt artificial intelligence and other productivity-enhancing technologies.
Despite growing awareness of AI’s potential, BDC data shows that only 30% of Canadian SMEs used AI in 2025—yet those businesses were 24% more productive than non‑users LIFT was created to help close this gap by offering a practical, accessible path to adoption.
LIFT removes key barriers that often prevent businesses from getting started:
Provides flexible financing to support investments in AI, digital tools, advanced equipment, automation, robotics and data infrastructure, and other productivity solutions
Provides business owners with BDC Advisory Services expertise to help identify Canadian AI and technology suppliers for integration and implementation
Requires no technical expertise, making it suitable for entrepreneurs who understand the importance of AI but need hands-on guidance to act.
Beverage businesses get innovation boost thanks to new Niagara College funding
Several beverage businesses will get a boost in launching new products in competitive markets thanks to a recent investment in Niagara College (NC)’s applied research division.
This investment enables Niagara College to support five beverage-focused small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Canada. Through the program, companies gain access to a full range of supports — from technical product development and manufacturing scale-up through FBIC, to market research, competitive analysis, branding strategy, and business advisory services provided by BCIC. Together, these services are designed to accelerate product readiness, reduce risk, and help Canadian businesses successfully launch and grow in competitive markets.
Healthcare systems need solutions that actually work. That's where AC:Health comes in.
AC:Health is a brand new 9-month accelerator designed by the accelerator centre to help early-stage health tech startups validate their solutions inside real healthcare environments and scale beyond them.
Its focused on reducing operational friction across:
Clinical workflows
Scheduling and capacity
Revenue and finance
Workforce operations
Supply chain
If you're building AI, data, or software for healthcare, we want to hear from you.
You’ll get hands-on mentorship, direct system access, and investor connections to move faster and smarter.
