York Institute for Enterprise Development

York Entrepreneurship Development Institute (YEDI ) is a Canadian business incubator , accelerator and venture fund located in the University of Toronto at York University . ^{[1] [2] The} Institute, in accordance with Canadian NFP law, is registered as a non-profit charitable organization. ^{[3] [4] [5] Free of} charge, on a competitive basis, conducts training courses and one-time thematic events for entrepreneurs, startups and non-profit organizations. ^{[6] [7] [8]} Most of the classes take place in the classrooms of the School of Business named after York University Hulk on the Keele Campus. ^{[9] [10]} Participants in educational courses to work on their projects at their request are given a place in the YEDI coworking space ^[11] . YEDI, unlike most traditional incubators and accelerators, does not charge tuition fees and does not ask for a share of the business at the incubation stage, instead the organization helps businessmen grow their business to the extent that it is interesting to large venture investors, including its own YEDI Venture Fund. ^{[12] [13]}

The institute was founded in 2013 by the former Russian entrepreneur, Marat Ressin, ^[14] with the support of the Russian-speaking Jewish community of Ontario ^[15] . Although it was originally created to provide assistance primarily to the Russian Jewish community, YEDI soon expanded its reach to other Jewish communities and other communities. ^[sixteen]

In an effort to expand its network of links with educational institutions of other countries, in August 2016 YEDI became a co-organizer of a two-week intensive business acceleration program at the Ariel University of Israel. ^{[17] [18]}

In April 2017, the Federal Agency for Economic Development of Southern Ontario (Canada) announced the investment of $ 1.98 million in the development of the YEDI business incubator program. ^{[19] [20]} In 2017, YEDI was put on the official list of the Government of Canada for business incubators approved for hosting the state-owned Start-Up Visa program. ^{[21] [22]} The government’s program seeks to attract innovative entrepreneurs to the country by linking them with Canadian business angel groups, venture capital funds or business incubators to simplify the process of starting a business in Canada. ^[23]

In early 2018, the Swedish consulting firm UBI Global placed the YEDI Institute on the first line of its ranking of university-related accelerators. ^{[24] [25] [26] [27] [28]} After the rating was published in cooperation with YEDI, G.V. Plekhanov Russian University of Economics became interested, and as a result, the Base Department of International Finance was opened in the second half of 2018 and Small Business Development Economics, York Institute for Entrepreneurship Development. ^{[29] [30]}