About NCFDC
Northumberland Business Development Assistance Corp. (o/a “Northumberland CFDC” and abbreviated “NCFDC”) was founded in 1985 with a mission to provide financing and strategy for entrepreneurs. We are based at the Venture13 Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre in Cobourg, in metro-adjacent Northumberland, just over an hour East of Toronto.
At the centre of our efforts is FedDev Ontario’s Community Futures Program (CFP) which has provided core operational funding for our multiple award-winning organization since 2001. Through the CFP we provide loans of up to $250,000 for small and medium-sized enterprises. That is why today we operate as Northumberland Community Futures Development Corporation (NCFDC) a non-profit, entrepreneurship and innovation-focused NGO.
Our organization is a member of the Northumberland Manufacturers Association, CF Ontario, CF Eastern Ontario, and the Ontario East Economic Development Commission. We are certified in Gender Based Analysis (GBA+), signatories to the 50—30 Challenge, and experienced in high-impact funding of regional innovation initiatives on behalf of the Government of Canada. We actively co-invest with industry in innovation capital, especially in advanced manufacturing, cleantech, agri-food, resources of the future, and other strategic sectors. NCFDC is comprised of motivated individuals and volunteer Directors committed to supporting entrepreneurship as a pathway to sustainable economic development and prosperity in our communities.
The V13 VentureZone is a co-working space for early-stage ventures, innovation-driven entrepreneurs, tele-commuters and startups. The Board of Partners of Venture13 (a facility owned by the Town of Cobourg located in the Northam Industrial Park) is comprised of NCFDC, Northumberland Manufacturers Association, Northumberland Makers, the business unit and secure data centre of the Cobourg Police Service (Canada’s leading wholesale supplier of online criminal record checks) as well as the Town of Cobourg’s Economic Development Department. “V13” assets include: a demo hall, a community kitchen, a makerlab and various shared spaces for community events such as fireside chats, lectures, meetings, workshops, hackathons and conferences.
In all that we do, whether through financing, strategy, partnerships or place-based initiatives like Venture13, we are committed to entrepreneur and industry-led economic advancement and future prosperity.