{"id":32917,"date":"2023-04-14T01:02:25","date_gmt":"2023-04-14T05:02:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=32917"},"modified":"2023-04-14T01:02:27","modified_gmt":"2023-04-14T05:02:27","slug":"local-entrepreneur-driven-to-propel-economic-growth-in-york-region","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/local-entrepreneur-driven-to-propel-economic-growth-in-york-region\/","title":{"rendered":"Local entrepreneur driven to propel economic growth in York Region"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As an industry leader, Aurora resident Keith Loo identified a \u201cvery real challenge\u201d needed in York Region\u2019s healthcare programs and, as an innovator, he set out to find a solution to alleviate the strain in the system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Skinopathy, the company Loo founded with Dr. Colin Hong, has gone from strength to strength using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to initially screen for skin cancers, but now they\u2019re seeing their innovation can tackle much larger challenges in healthcare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This eye on the future is just one of the reasons Loo has stepped up as a member of the Region of York\u2019s new Innovation Leadership Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Council, says Charles Banfield, Manager of Strategic Economic Initiatives for the Region of York, was formed to \u201chelp drive innovation and economic growth, with economic vitality being a priority of York Region Council as identified in the recently-approved Strategic Plan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYork Region is Canada\u2019s second-largest technology hub and home to more than 55,600 businesses,\u201d he said. \u201cThis group will work alongside staff to identify emerging economic development opportunities and strengthen York Region\u2019s position as a thriving hub for innovation, which is a key driver of economic growth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Council will engage with industry leaders and get their input on innovation-related activities, including insights on the current and future state of the York\u2019s \u201cinnovation ecosystem,\u201d assisting the Region in identifying opportunities, risks, challenges and needs, and \u201cfostering mutually beneficial and productive relationships between the business community and York Region.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have lived in York Region for over 30 years, and have worked here for half that time. Contributing to the continual growth and success of our Region is truly important to me,\u201d says Loo. \u201cYork Region has a phenomenal history of innovation and entrepreneurship \u2013 and it\u2019s important that we continue to build on this. Further, part of what makes Aurora special is our tie to a larger Region that brings together the local municipalities, enabling each city and town to thrive in its own way, while leveraging the strengths of all our neighbours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe founded Skinopathy due to a very real challenge we have in York Region, and Canada today. Our healthcare system is strained \u2013 and we need to drive real innovation to ensure Canadians get the care they need and deserve. I want to bring the voice and perspective of entrepreneurs, start-ups, and innovators to the table, as these are often cornerstones of economic impact and growth. The York Region Economic Development team has been incredible in assembling a melange of voices and perspectives that I truly believe will provide valuable input to sustain the Region\u2019s economic growth and competitiveness. As a result, I would love to see increased collaboration between players in the innovation ecosystem, cross-pollination of ideas, and new partnerships between organizations of all sizes forming within the Region.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new Council first met on February 27 for orientation and to select a Chair and Vice Chair. They were set to get down to business this week with a focus on reviewing research the Region undertook on the local \u201cinnovation ecosystem\u201d over the last two years. The meeting was also set to include talks on leveraging existing assets such as YorkNet\u2019s dark fibre network and the Entrepreneurship & Innovation Fund to \u201csupport economic development and innovation-related activities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile the purpose of this Council is to play an advisory role by working with York Region staff, there is the opportunity for York Region projects to be identified and developed based on input from the Council members,\u201d says Banfield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adds Loo: \u201cI think that\u2019s the beauty of entrepreneurship and innovation: We are working together to figure out how we can best help the Region. That is, we are learning as we go along. That said, the best outcome I can think of is to provide real insight and input that will enable the Region to shape and to achieve its economic development plan. I am so impressed and thrilled to see the members who have volunteered to join this committee. This is a spectacular group! It is truly humbling to be included in this group and I look forward to working closely with and learning from these titans of innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n\r\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As an industry leader, Aurora resident Keith Loo identified a \u201cvery real challenge\u201d needed in York Region\u2019s healthcare programs and, as an innovator, he set out to find a solution to alleviate the strain in the system. Skinopathy, the company Loo founded with Dr. Colin Hong, has gone from strength to strength using Artificial Intelligence […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-8yV","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-25 00:36:17","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32917"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32917\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}