THUNDER BAY – The Northwestern Ontario Innovation Centre is making it easier for forestry-sector businesses to get up and running in the region. The centre’s Boreal Springboard program received $1.5 million through the province’s trade-impacted communities program. The Boreal Springboard project offers an accelerator and a soft-landing program, says Richard Gemmill, executive director of the Northwestern Ontario Innovation Center. “The funding being announced today is going to help put our program on an even stronger path to success and will build significant momentum for companies who are positioned to scale their forest-based products and technologies in our region,” Gemmill said at a media event this week. The accelerator program helps entrepreneurs, startups, and existing businesses gather ideas and technologies and turn them into sellable products for the market. The funding will help business access up to $40,000 of seed funding and development support, technical resources, connections to industry partners, and the marketplace.