Lanaudière Économique (LÉ) was founded in 1991 to address the economic development needs and challenges of in the six regional county municipalities (MRCs) of the territory. LÉ propels innovative businesses and projects in Lanaudière, in collaboration with other economic development organizations in the region. Leveraging partnerships with over thirty regional, LÉ contributes to the prosperity and reputation of our beautiful region by fostering synergy among all these stakeholders. LÉ is also in responsible for the Ecoleader Fund, the regionalization of immigrant labor, the OSEntreprendre Challenge, the Entrepreneurship Week in Schools, and, of course, the Lanaudière Regional Acceleration and Growth Space.
The Lanaudière Regional Acceleration Center (ERAC) has been officially operational since September 26, 2018. It was initially known as the Lanaudière Regional Innovation Hub. It serves as a “second-line actor”, collaborating with ecosystem partners who already support businesses, particularly the economic development advisors working with the six MRCs, the three SADCs, and other innovation stakeholders such as Bio.Enviro.In, CERESO, CIETECH, INEDI, Innohub, the Living Lab Lanaudière, Technocentre Lavaltrie, and the Agtech Zone.
Importantly, nearly all regional innovation ecosystem actors are gathered under the name Réseau Innovation Lanaudière, an informal alliance of incubators and acceleration hubs in the region. We are also responsible of the coordination of this network.
The ERAC also works closely with the territorial directorates of the Ministry of Economy, Innovation, and Energy, as well as with the Quebec Innovation Council.
As a true regional catalyst for innovation, the ERAC collaborates with ecosystem actors to facilitate innovation projects and drive value creation in Lanaudière, primarily through three main approaches:
- By facilitating access to appropriate services for entrepreneurs based on their growth and innovation integration needs.
- By ensuring coordination among ecosystem actors in the deployment and animation of services.
- By contributing to the establishment of an innovation culture in Lanaudière.
