BDC launches two entrepreneur-led AI programs to make small businesses, and itself, more productive

The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) has tapped two entrepreneurs to help Canadian businesses adopt AI and improve its offerings. On Monday, BDC announced the launch of Mission AI, which will help small businesses identify where AI can make them more productive, and Studio AI, which will build and deploy solutions that make it easier for businesses to transact with BDC.  “An entrepreneur should not have to become an AI expert to benefit from it.” Dominic Gagnon, BDC Each new program has its own experienced entrepreneur at the helm, with Mission AI spearheaded by Connect&GO founder Dominic Gagnon, and Studio AI led by former Frank & Oak CTO Raff Paquin. The programs are rooted in the results of a recent BDC study that found that 30 percent of Canadian small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) are using generative AI, and when they do they are 24 percent more productive than those that don’t. With Mission AI, Gagnon’s team will nail down an SME’s needs and match them with the Canadian AI solution that’s right for the job. At the same time, a panel of entrepreneurs will be testing the business’ tools, looking for common challenges that can be automated to free up time.  “An entrepreneur should not have to become an AI expert to benefit from it,” Gagnon said in a statement. “If a tool helps a business get a quote out faster, or spend fewer hours processing invoices, that matters.” Mission AI builds on other efforts from BDC to drive up SME AI adoption. Earlier this year, it launched the $500-million LIFT loan program to help 1,000 SMEs adopt AI. The bank claimed at the time that if every SME had the same level of technological maturity as the most advanced companies in Canada, GDP could grow by up to 14 percent. RELATED: BDC’s new $500-million loan program will help smaller businesses adopt AI Meanwhile, drawing on his experience in tech-heavy roles at Canadian companies like Shopify, Lightspeed, and Altitude Sports, Paquin will work on reinventing what BDC described as “the experience of entrepreneurs seeking financing and support.” AI Studio’s goal is to dramatically reduce the time it takes for entrepreneurs to receive money from BDC, while giving them more visibility and predictability “at every step,” according to the Crown corporation. An improvement to BDC’s operations wouldn’t go unnoticed. The bank is Canada’s most significant investor, operating a portfolio that most recently reported roughly $30 million in debt investments, $1.74 billion in direct equity investments, and $1.68 billion in investments in other funds. BDC reported serving more than 100,000 clients in its last fiscal year, and expects to contribute $28 billion to Canada’s GDP over the next five years. “Few roles let you build something new to tackle that at this scale,” Paquin wrote in a LinkedIn post. “It may sound crazy, but I hope we’ll one day measure the studio’s impact in Canada’s macroeconomic numbers, starting with higher productivity for small and medium-sized businesses.” Feature image courtesy BDC.The post BDC launches two entrepreneur-led AI programs to make small businesses, and itself, more productive first appeared on BetaKit.