Stories of Innovation
INNOVATE™ South Africa
CREATING KLEIN JAN
CREATIVITY IN THE KALAHARI
When Michelin star chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen first laid eyes on Boscia House, a one-hundred-year-old farmhouse situated at the beautiful Tswalu Kalahari in the Northern Cape, he saw the vastness of the region as a canvas on which to create something special. Worlds away from the beautiful waters...
INNOVATE® Philadelphia: 250 Years of Innovation
NSWCPD
Anchoring Innovation for the Fleet and the Region
Philadelphia is universally recognized as the birthplace of American independence, the city where the Nation’s foundational documents were fiercely debated and boldly signed. Yet, intricately woven into the city’s DNA is another monumental birthright: it is the birthplace of the United States Navy. In the fall of 1775, a Continental...
INNOVATE® South Carolina
KION
FROM GLOBAL VISION TO LOCAL INGENUITY: HOW KION NORTH AMERICA IS DRIVING THE FUTURE OF INNOVATION
IN AN INDUSTRY OFTEN DEFINED BY POWER AND PRECISION, KION NORTH AMERICA STANDS APART FOR SOMETHING MORE INTANGIBLE: ITS COMMITMENT TO CONTINUOUS INNOVATION. FROM ADVANCED ENGINEERING AND MANUFACTURING TO A CULTURE THAT VALUES CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING, KION NA’S APPROACH IS ONE OF GLOBAL COLLABORATION, LOCAL EXECUTION, AND DEEP CUSTOMER FOCUS. AT...
INNOVATE® Miami
Creator Connect
Giving People The Power To Create New Things
Creator Connect came to me in October 2017, lying on my couch in Boca Raton, Florida. I thought to myself, what if every time someone posted to Facebook or Instagram they could turn their post into an inspiration for custom artwork. That day the concept of Creator Connect was born....
INNOVATION Quebec
INVESTISSEMENT QUÉBEC
UNE HISTOIRE D’AVENIR
1998 Investissement Québec est créée. L’organisation permet aux entreprises et aux investisseurs d’accéder à l’ensemble des programmes offerts par le gouvernement du Québec. Bien que ce ne soit pas énoncé ainsi à l’époque, l’objectif est fondamentalement de développer l’économie du Québec et le positionner comme terre propice à l’innovation, à...
INNOVATE® Jacksonville
BlendedDesigns: Empower. Educate. Elevate.
When shopping for back-to-school supplies, more consumers are turning to online shopping instead of going to the mall. One entrepreneur is looking to encourage young students to become first-generation college graduates with an online shop, BlendedDesigns.com. Encouraging students with backpacks that say, “I can do anything,” founder and CEO Casey...
INNOVATE™ Antwerp Vol.2
ELIXIR D’ANVERS
ARTISAN LIQUEUR. UNIQUE TASTE. UNCOMPROMISING QUALITY. 160 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
19th of March 1863, in a house in a suburb of Antwerp, François-Xavier de Beukelaer – after finishing his studies as a doctor and pharmacist – discovered early in the morning after years of research, the recipe for a delicious liqueur: Elixir d’Anvers. Elixir d’Anvers soon became famous for his...
INNOVATION Quebec
CÉRSÉ
CCTT IN SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ECO-CITIZENSHIP
The Centre d’étude en responsabilité sociale et écocitoyenneté (CERSE) is a centre for action research that aims to accelerate responsible social innovation in organizations and civil society by making the process accessible and inclusive. Our areas of expertise Our approach and positionOur services are based on collaborative and rigorous research...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL ROADS AGENCY SOC LTD (SANRAL)
IN LINE WITH GOVERNMENT’S COMMITMENT TO TRANSFORM THE PUBLIC SECTOR, THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL ROADS AGENCY SOC LTD (SANRAL) WAS ESTABLISHED IN APRIL 1998 BY AN ACT OF PARLIAMENT, AS AN INDEPENDENT STATUTORY COMPANY OPERATING ALONG COMMERCIAL LINES AND AT ARM’S LENGTH FROM GOVERNMENT
WITH A MANDATE TO FINANCE, DEVELOP AND MAINTAIN THE NATIONAL ROAD NETWORK OF OVER 22 000 KM, SANRAL LEADS THE WAY ON INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT IN A POST-COVID SOUTH AFRICA. Innovation is at the forefront of SANRAL’s agenda in the infrastructure development space. In recent years the Agency has increasingly...
INNOVATE™ Atlantic Canada
CareerBeacon
A Human Approach to HR Technology
While the recruitment industry changes faster than ever, CareerBeacon stands apart through a fundamental principle often overlooked in tech innovation: empathy. When Yves Boudreau and co-founder Benoit Bourque acquired CareerBeacon in 2021, they saw more than just a job board – they saw the opportunity to transform how talent connects...
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
CONNECTpreneur
Fueling Innovation in the Heart of Washington D.C.
In Washington, D.C., the entrepreneurial spirit isn’t just alive; it’s thriving, thanks to CONNECTpreneur. This isn’t your typical forum – it’s the heartbeat of business innovation. Boasting a global network of over 30,000 trailblazers – from CEOs to investors, and angels to entrepreneurs – CONNECTpreneur is where ideas ignite and...
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
FLIKSHOP
BRIDGING GAPS, REUNITING FAMILIES AND ENDING RECIDIVISM
“We want to create a footprint in this community that kicks in doors to give access to folks like me.” When Marcus Bullock was just 15, he faced a life-altering challenge. Arrested and sentenced to eight years in adult maximum security prison for carjacking, he found himself in a...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
DATADISTILLR
COLLABORATE AND EXPLORE DATA LIKE NEVER BEFORE
Data is the source of all learning, and nothing should get in the way of that. Data should be easy to access and explore. We spend too long working on our data instead of with our data. Data tells a story, and it’s our job to unearth and tell that...
INNOVATE® Miami
Pitch Night MIA
Monthly pitch competition designed to bring the startup community together
Pitch Night MIA is a monthly pitch competition designed to bring the startup community together for a night of entertainment, education and collaboration. Miami right now is buzzing with an influx of innovative people, businesses, and opportunities. With everything being so new, it can be challenging for founders...
INNOVATE™ Estonia
ESTONIAN ENTREPRENEURSHIP UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
A UNIVERSITY BORN OF A VISION
When Estonia regained independence in the early 1990s, its economy was in flux. The country was moving rapidly from a socialist system into the unpredictable, high-speed world of open markets. At that critical juncture, one man – Ülo Pärnits – saw a gap that urgently needed filling. Estonia had bright...
INNOVATION Quebec
Génome Québec
le joyau caché des sciences de la vie La génomique- Facteur d’attraction d’investissements et de talents
GÉNOME QUÉBEC a été fondé en 2000, dans la foulée du premier séquençage entier du génome humain. Membre du réseau pancanadien chapeauté par Génome Canada, notre mission consiste à soutenir le développement stratégique et scientifique de la génomique au Québec. En collaboration avec ses partenaires, Génome Québec a investi plus...
INNOVATE™ Bristol & Bath
Arup
An Innovative Approach To Creating A Strategy For A Carbon-neutral And Climate-resilient City By 2030
Arup is an independent firm of designers, planners, engineers, architects, consultants and technical specialists working across every aspect of today’s built environment. Our office in Bristol city centre was founded more than 40 years ago and today is home to more than 350 staff, working on local, national and international...
INNOVATE® Nashville
MINDFUL
Add kindness to your tech stack.
Revitalizing a 25-year-old software company is no small task, but can be a pathway towards innovation and compelling value creation for employees, customers, and investors. That’s the story of Mindful, a contact center software company that relocated to Nashville in 2018, which was acquired by Medallia in 2022 after an...
INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports
GAMES INSTITUTE AUSTRIA
THERE IS A GAME FOR EVERYONE
GIA STORY“What if learning felt like a game?” This initial question was actually the starting point for the Games Institute. When Thomas Kunze stumbled over the topic of Game Based Learning in 2010, it was a question that never really left his thoughts again. Learning, especially in a digital world,...
INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2
SAWAI FRAGRANCES USA
PERFECTING THE ART OF FRAGRANCE SINCE 1965
Born in India in 1965, Sawai Fragrances is a traditional Indian manufacturing business that is changing the way the world sees (or smells) perfume, in its new avatar in New Jersey. Sawai Fragrances was founded by Mr. Sawailal Jain in Kanauj, India – an area that is home to a...
INNOVATE® Austin Volume 2
TROY JESSEE CONSTRUCTION
CARE BY DESIGN
“An emphasis on long-term relationships, coupled with an ethic that treats everyone with the highest degree of respect, has created beautiful construction and bonds that enrich the community.” How much architecture can you fit in a building? That’s a line as old as the construction industry itself – and one...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
CITI
TWENTY-TWO YEARS AGO, THE CAPE INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE (CITI) SEEDED IT’S VISION OF A FUTURE FIT INCLUSIVE SOCIETY, IN THE WESTERN CAPE, THEN A PREDOMINANTLY AGRARIAN ECONOMY
Using Michael Porter’s cluster theory as a cornerstone of its strategy, CiTi designed interventions to grow, transform and enable a leading digital economy on the continent. CiTi’s interventions have been acknowledged to have supported South Africa’s charge to the top of the inaugural fDi Africa “Tech Ecosystems of the...
INNOVATION Quebec
CTS
QUEBEC’S MOST SPECIALIZED HEALTHCARE TECHNOLOGY GROWTH ACCELERATOR
The Health Technology Catalyst (CTS), founded in 2008 as a not-for-profit organization, is an à la carte growth accelerator which responds to the challenges and needs of each startup. Its mission: catalyze the growth of life sciences startups, particularly in medical technology and digital health, by offering customized acceleration services....
INNOVATE® Georgia
PrimeRevenues
THE IDEAL PARTNER FOR FINANCIAL SUPPLY CHAINS
Best-in-class SCF Payments & Services Our Team With over 20 years of experience in the supply chain finance (SCF)industry, we have processed trillions of dollars in payments and earned the reputation of a trusted partner who deeply understands the supply chain finance needs of businesses worldwide. Our premier team, combined...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
CREATING KLEIN JAN
CREATIVITY IN THE KALAHARI
When Michelin star chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen first laid eyes on Boscia House, a one-hundred-year-old farmhouse situated at the beautiful Tswalu Kalahari in the Northern Cape, he saw the vastness of the region as a canvas on which to create something special. Worlds away from the beautiful waters...
INNOVATE® Philadelphia: 250 Years of Innovation
NSWCPD
Anchoring Innovation for the Fleet and the Region
Philadelphia is universally recognized as the birthplace of American independence, the city where the Nation’s foundational documents were fiercely debated and boldly signed. Yet, intricately woven into the city’s DNA is another monumental birthright: it is the birthplace of the United States Navy. In the fall of 1775, a Continental...
INNOVATE® South Carolina
KION
FROM GLOBAL VISION TO LOCAL INGENUITY: HOW KION NORTH AMERICA IS DRIVING THE FUTURE OF INNOVATION
IN AN INDUSTRY OFTEN DEFINED BY POWER AND PRECISION, KION NORTH AMERICA STANDS APART FOR SOMETHING MORE INTANGIBLE: ITS COMMITMENT TO CONTINUOUS INNOVATION. FROM ADVANCED ENGINEERING AND MANUFACTURING TO A CULTURE THAT VALUES CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING, KION NA’S APPROACH IS ONE OF GLOBAL COLLABORATION, LOCAL EXECUTION, AND DEEP CUSTOMER FOCUS. AT...
INNOVATE® Miami
Creator Connect
Giving People The Power To Create New Things
Creator Connect came to me in October 2017, lying on my couch in Boca Raton, Florida. I thought to myself, what if every time someone posted to Facebook or Instagram they could turn their post into an inspiration for custom artwork. That day the concept of Creator Connect was born....
INNOVATION Quebec
INVESTISSEMENT QUÉBEC
UNE HISTOIRE D’AVENIR
1998 Investissement Québec est créée. L’organisation permet aux entreprises et aux investisseurs d’accéder à l’ensemble des programmes offerts par le gouvernement du Québec. Bien que ce ne soit pas énoncé ainsi à l’époque, l’objectif est fondamentalement de développer l’économie du Québec et le positionner comme terre propice à l’innovation, à...
INNOVATE® Jacksonville
BlendedDesigns: Empower. Educate. Elevate.
When shopping for back-to-school supplies, more consumers are turning to online shopping instead of going to the mall. One entrepreneur is looking to encourage young students to become first-generation college graduates with an online shop, BlendedDesigns.com. Encouraging students with backpacks that say, “I can do anything,” founder and CEO Casey...
INNOVATE™ Antwerp Vol.2
ELIXIR D’ANVERS
ARTISAN LIQUEUR. UNIQUE TASTE. UNCOMPROMISING QUALITY. 160 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
19th of March 1863, in a house in a suburb of Antwerp, François-Xavier de Beukelaer – after finishing his studies as a doctor and pharmacist – discovered early in the morning after years of research, the recipe for a delicious liqueur: Elixir d’Anvers. Elixir d’Anvers soon became famous for his...
INNOVATION Quebec
CÉRSÉ
CCTT IN SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ECO-CITIZENSHIP
The Centre d’étude en responsabilité sociale et écocitoyenneté (CERSE) is a centre for action research that aims to accelerate responsible social innovation in organizations and civil society by making the process accessible and inclusive. Our areas of expertise Our approach and positionOur services are based on collaborative and rigorous research...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL ROADS AGENCY SOC LTD (SANRAL)
IN LINE WITH GOVERNMENT’S COMMITMENT TO TRANSFORM THE PUBLIC SECTOR, THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL ROADS AGENCY SOC LTD (SANRAL) WAS ESTABLISHED IN APRIL 1998 BY AN ACT OF PARLIAMENT, AS AN INDEPENDENT STATUTORY COMPANY OPERATING ALONG COMMERCIAL LINES AND AT ARM’S LENGTH FROM GOVERNMENT
WITH A MANDATE TO FINANCE, DEVELOP AND MAINTAIN THE NATIONAL ROAD NETWORK OF OVER 22 000 KM, SANRAL LEADS THE WAY ON INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT IN A POST-COVID SOUTH AFRICA. Innovation is at the forefront of SANRAL’s agenda in the infrastructure development space. In recent years the Agency has increasingly...
INNOVATE™ Atlantic Canada
CareerBeacon
A Human Approach to HR Technology
While the recruitment industry changes faster than ever, CareerBeacon stands apart through a fundamental principle often overlooked in tech innovation: empathy. When Yves Boudreau and co-founder Benoit Bourque acquired CareerBeacon in 2021, they saw more than just a job board – they saw the opportunity to transform how talent connects...
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
CONNECTpreneur
Fueling Innovation in the Heart of Washington D.C.
In Washington, D.C., the entrepreneurial spirit isn’t just alive; it’s thriving, thanks to CONNECTpreneur. This isn’t your typical forum – it’s the heartbeat of business innovation. Boasting a global network of over 30,000 trailblazers – from CEOs to investors, and angels to entrepreneurs – CONNECTpreneur is where ideas ignite and...
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
FLIKSHOP
BRIDGING GAPS, REUNITING FAMILIES AND ENDING RECIDIVISM
“We want to create a footprint in this community that kicks in doors to give access to folks like me.” When Marcus Bullock was just 15, he faced a life-altering challenge. Arrested and sentenced to eight years in adult maximum security prison for carjacking, he found himself in a...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
DATADISTILLR
COLLABORATE AND EXPLORE DATA LIKE NEVER BEFORE
Data is the source of all learning, and nothing should get in the way of that. Data should be easy to access and explore. We spend too long working on our data instead of with our data. Data tells a story, and it’s our job to unearth and tell that...
INNOVATE® Miami
Pitch Night MIA
Monthly pitch competition designed to bring the startup community together
Pitch Night MIA is a monthly pitch competition designed to bring the startup community together for a night of entertainment, education and collaboration. Miami right now is buzzing with an influx of innovative people, businesses, and opportunities. With everything being so new, it can be challenging for founders...
INNOVATE™ Estonia
ESTONIAN ENTREPRENEURSHIP UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
A UNIVERSITY BORN OF A VISION
When Estonia regained independence in the early 1990s, its economy was in flux. The country was moving rapidly from a socialist system into the unpredictable, high-speed world of open markets. At that critical juncture, one man – Ülo Pärnits – saw a gap that urgently needed filling. Estonia had bright...
INNOVATION Quebec
Génome Québec
le joyau caché des sciences de la vie La génomique- Facteur d’attraction d’investissements et de talents
GÉNOME QUÉBEC a été fondé en 2000, dans la foulée du premier séquençage entier du génome humain. Membre du réseau pancanadien chapeauté par Génome Canada, notre mission consiste à soutenir le développement stratégique et scientifique de la génomique au Québec. En collaboration avec ses partenaires, Génome Québec a investi plus...
INNOVATE™ Bristol & Bath
Arup
An Innovative Approach To Creating A Strategy For A Carbon-neutral And Climate-resilient City By 2030
Arup is an independent firm of designers, planners, engineers, architects, consultants and technical specialists working across every aspect of today’s built environment. Our office in Bristol city centre was founded more than 40 years ago and today is home to more than 350 staff, working on local, national and international...
INNOVATE® Nashville
MINDFUL
Add kindness to your tech stack.
Revitalizing a 25-year-old software company is no small task, but can be a pathway towards innovation and compelling value creation for employees, customers, and investors. That’s the story of Mindful, a contact center software company that relocated to Nashville in 2018, which was acquired by Medallia in 2022 after an...
INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports
GAMES INSTITUTE AUSTRIA
THERE IS A GAME FOR EVERYONE
GIA STORY“What if learning felt like a game?” This initial question was actually the starting point for the Games Institute. When Thomas Kunze stumbled over the topic of Game Based Learning in 2010, it was a question that never really left his thoughts again. Learning, especially in a digital world,...
INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2
SAWAI FRAGRANCES USA
PERFECTING THE ART OF FRAGRANCE SINCE 1965
Born in India in 1965, Sawai Fragrances is a traditional Indian manufacturing business that is changing the way the world sees (or smells) perfume, in its new avatar in New Jersey. Sawai Fragrances was founded by Mr. Sawailal Jain in Kanauj, India – an area that is home to a...
INNOVATE® Austin Volume 2
TROY JESSEE CONSTRUCTION
CARE BY DESIGN
“An emphasis on long-term relationships, coupled with an ethic that treats everyone with the highest degree of respect, has created beautiful construction and bonds that enrich the community.” How much architecture can you fit in a building? That’s a line as old as the construction industry itself – and one...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
CITI
TWENTY-TWO YEARS AGO, THE CAPE INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE (CITI) SEEDED IT’S VISION OF A FUTURE FIT INCLUSIVE SOCIETY, IN THE WESTERN CAPE, THEN A PREDOMINANTLY AGRARIAN ECONOMY
Using Michael Porter’s cluster theory as a cornerstone of its strategy, CiTi designed interventions to grow, transform and enable a leading digital economy on the continent. CiTi’s interventions have been acknowledged to have supported South Africa’s charge to the top of the inaugural fDi Africa “Tech Ecosystems of the...
INNOVATION Quebec
CTS
QUEBEC’S MOST SPECIALIZED HEALTHCARE TECHNOLOGY GROWTH ACCELERATOR
The Health Technology Catalyst (CTS), founded in 2008 as a not-for-profit organization, is an à la carte growth accelerator which responds to the challenges and needs of each startup. Its mission: catalyze the growth of life sciences startups, particularly in medical technology and digital health, by offering customized acceleration services....
INNOVATE® Georgia
PrimeRevenues
THE IDEAL PARTNER FOR FINANCIAL SUPPLY CHAINS
Best-in-class SCF Payments & Services Our Team With over 20 years of experience in the supply chain finance (SCF)industry, we have processed trillions of dollars in payments and earned the reputation of a trusted partner who deeply understands the supply chain finance needs of businesses worldwide. Our premier team, combined...