Stories of Innovation

INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition

Maryland Tech Council

Pioneering Innovation in the Heart of Maryland

The Maryland Tech Council (MTC) stands at the crossroads of technology and life sciences, fostering a dynamic ecosystem where innovation thrives and transforms lives. “At the Maryland Tech Council, we believe in saving lives, securing our nation, and improving the quality of life through innovation,” says Kelly Schulz, CEO of...

INNOVATION Quebec

SCALE AI

TOWARDS AN AI-POWERED ECONOMY FOR CANADA

As Canada’s AI Global Innovation Cluster, Scale AI acts as an investment and innovation hub to accelerate the adoption and rapid integration of artificial intelligence in supply chains with projects that have a high potential for our economy. Scale AI brings together the pillars of the pan-Canadian AI community, encouraging...

INNOVATE™ Bristol & Bath

COOKPAD

COOKPAD-OUR MISSION IS TO MAKE EVERYDAY COOKING FUN

OUR MISSION IS TO MAKE EVERYDAY COOKING FUN

Cookpad is a tech company working to reconnect the world with everyday cooking. We believe that cooking is the key to a happier and healthier life for people, communities and the planet.   The choices we make shape our world. And when we cook, the choices we make have an...

INNOVATE™ Stockholm

TECHARENA

WHERE INNOVATION BEGINS WITH HUMAN CONNECTION

Techarena is a Nordic-born platform for innovation and entrepreneurship that brings together thousands of founders, investors, business leaders, and policymakers every year. Through high-impact events, accelerator programs, and media channels, Techarena creates opportunities for cross-border collaboration and sustainable growth. From Local Competition to Global Platform What began in 2014 as...

INNOVATE™ South Africa

LE AFRIKA

LE AFRIKA - DISCOVER THE HEALING POWER THAT IS CHANGING THE LIVES OF THOUSANDS AROUND THE WORLD!

DISCOVER THE HEALING POWER THAT IS CHANGING THE LIVES OF THOUSANDS AROUND THE WORLD!

The world is woke… going back to our roots. The new buzzword is #gogreen in terms of health and wellness.   And we’ve been fortunate and blessed with the opportunity of being a part of this new era, introducing and promoting Le Afrika sustainably sourced 100% natural products with their...

INNOVATE® Miami

SkyPlanner

SkyPlanner - We believe in fully integrating ourselves within our clients’ businesses

We believe in fully integrating ourselves within our clients’ businesses

SkyPlanner is a 5-star-rated, Silver Salesforce Consulting & AppExchange Partner based in Miami, FL with offices in Bogota, Colombia, and Vitoria, Brazil specialized in helping companies of all shapes and sizes leverage the power of Salesforce to do more with their businesses. At SkyPlanner, we believe in fully integrating ourselves...

INNOVATE® Chicago Vol.1

NUTRISENSE

NUTRISENSE-Our Mission Is To Help Anyone Reach Their Health Potential.

Our Mission Is To Help Anyone Reach Their Health Potential

Already a successful tech entrepreneur, Alex Skryl had not intended to take on another similar venture. However, Alex was deeply moved by the growing epidemic of chronic disease in the United States. He felt that it was time to put his entrepreneurial mindset towards giving back to the community. Thus,...

INNOVATION Quebec

LA VAGUE

L’ACCÉLÉRATEUR INSULAIRE ÎLES-DE-LA-MADELEINE

La Corporation d’innovation et de développement des Îles, LA VAGUE, est un organisme qui crée un lieu de convergence pour favoriser la synergie entre les acteurs socioéconomiques des Îles-de-laMadeleine et d’ailleurs. Sa vision est orientée vers une économie insulaire durable et créatrice de richesses. Elle offre de l’accompagnement spécialisé pour...

INNOVATE™ Flanders

NEW VALMAR BV

INNOVATION BY AUTOMATION

Our core business is big distribution of baby items in- and outside the EU in a multi-channel setting. That means a lot of requirements by country legal systems and specific customer demands. Customers in more the 45 countries have different needs and requests. They must be reached to be successful....

INNOVATE™ Curitiba

AMCHAM

AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FOR BRAZIL

The American Chamber of Commerce (Amcham) is a non-profit institution present in the Brazilian market since 1919. In more than 100 years of history, it has sought to develop the market in various fronts and currently has branches in 16 cities across the country. Not neglecting its American roots and...

INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2

HAX

SOLVING HARD PROBLEMS WITH HARD TECH

SOSV’S HAX is the world’s most active early stage investor in hard tech – the difficult to build physical tech at the forefront of science and engineering in disciplines like robotics, material science, and chemistry. Many investors have shied away from hard tech, and the last 30 years of the...

Business team collaborating in an innovation community

Businesses that are resilient don’t usually rely on their own resources alone. They usually have strong networks of customers, suppliers, partners, and local institutions around them that help them notice changes early and act quickly. Those connections give you useful information, practical help, and better choices when a supply chain...

INNOVATE® South Carolina

IT-oLogy

Promote. Teach. Grow.

USC and BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina partnered with IBM in December 2008 to form the Consortium for Enterprise Systems Management. The Consortium was formed in part to encourage young people to learn the skills needed to manage enterprise systems, large-scale computers that process high volume transactions. Since its inception,...

INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition

NEXTGENPRENEUR

Developing Tomorrow’s Leaders Today

NEXTGENPRENEUR is revolutionizing the future for young women and girls, transforming them into tomorrow’s leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs. This powerhouse of empowerment is an edtech and learning platform that arms middle and high-school-aged girls with crucial life and leadership skills missing from traditional education. Leading this bold initiative is Founder...

INNOVATION Quebec

DISTRIQ QUANTUM INNOVATION ZONE

DistriQ, Quantum Innovation Zone, is an organization that provides expertise and infrastructure to foster the emergence and acceleration of innovation in the quantum science and technology sector. DistriQ supports the development of one of the first innovation zones ofthe Quebec government, the Sherbrooke Quantum Innovation Zone. Since its designation in...

INNOVATE® Kansas City

EMPIRE DREAMS

GRASSROOTS VISIONARIES: HOW EMPIRE DREAMS IS REBUILDING EAST-SIDE KC... ONE FAMILY, ONE NEIGHBORHOOD, ONE BUSINESS AT A TIME

Empire Dreams is birthing a new blueprint for urban transformation in East-Side Kansas City neighborhoods long neglected and marginalized by institutions and systems that fueled their disinvestment. Every facet of their work is designed to dismantle systemic racism, generational poverty, and the lingering effects of childhood trauma. Believing that true...

INNOVATE® Chicago Vol.1

STEADFAST

MAKING IT WORK

Steadfast began in 1998 as an internet-technology passion project for Steadfast’s Founder, Karl Zimmerman, when he was only 14 years old. Karl’s dream to help companies with their data hosting and security needs started early on, and through these relationships, Karl learned there was a frustrating gap with many hosting...

INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition

COLDS Collective

LAYING THE FOUNDATION FOR A NEW AGE

COLDS Collective is a creator collective and digital native organisation helping people of African descent navigate and harness Web3 and other emerging technologies. United by the mission to educate, grow and innovate collectively, COLDS Collective is harnessing the power of bits (technology) to make tangible, positive changes in atoms (real...

INNOVATE™ Flanders

VIL

Empowering logistics for over 20 years

Creating added value for and enhancing competitiveness of all Flemish companies with logistics operations is VIL’s main focus. And it has been for over twenty years. From a small non-profit organization, VIL has grown to be a hands-on, company driven organization, with a staff of 35 employees. Since 2017 VIL...

INNOVATE® Miami

SunVessel

SunVessel - Transforming the way we travel around our country

Transforming the way we travel around our country

SunVessel is a network of smart charging stations for electric and robotic personal mobility devices installed in partnering hotels, offices, and apartment buildings. We are the next-generation transportation amenity. Our stations lock, charge, and teach users how to ride in a seamless manner. Users can come up to our stations...

Global Innovation Spotlight

The New MVP Tech Stack: What Forward-Thinking Founders Are Betting On in 2026

The New MVP Tech Stack: What Forward-Thinking Founders Are Betting On in 2026 Somewhere right now, a founder is about to spend $120,000 building an MVP that could have been shipped for $25,000. Not because the cheaper version would be worse. Because the founder picked the wrong tech stack for...

INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports

OAKWOOD UNIVERSITY

OAKWOOD UNIVERSITY-IF YOU BUILD IT

IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME...” THIS MISQUOTED LINE DERIVED FROM THE MOVIE, FIELD OF DREAMS, IS OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH STARTUP DEVELOPMENT. IT SOUNDS GOOD BUT UNFORTUNATELY IT IS NOT REALISTIC

What does work is the act of providing a reason for why they should come. That is the central theme of Oakwood University’s Entrepreneurship Center, OU Launchpad, and it is why gaming is at the heart of the center’s success. OU Launchpad is structured around ideation and microentrepreneurship. These two...

INNOVATE™ Vancouver Vol.2

OMNICART

A SAAS PLATFORM AND DELIVERY OPERATING SYSTEM FOR ENTREPRENEURS WHO WANT TO BUILD AND SCALE

OMNICART-A SAAS PLATFORM AND DELIVERY OPERATING SYSTEM FOR ENTREPRENEURS WHO WANT TO BUILD AND SCALE A DELIVERY BUSINESS, AND WE ARE ON A MISSION TO EMPOWER EVERYONE TO UNLOCK THE POTENTIAL OF ON-DEMAND DELIVERY. In the same way that Shopify made it easier for anyone to start and scale an...

INNOVATE® Miami

Penpal Schools

Helping teachers connect their students to learn with penpals around the world and from different backgrounds

PenPal Schools PenPal Schools is the world’s largest project-based learning community, with over a quarter million students in 150 countries. Students collaborate through online projects ranging from human rights and the environment to fake news and robotics, all while practicing literacy, technology, and social-emotional skills. PenPal Schools was recognized by...

INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition

Maryland Tech Council

Pioneering Innovation in the Heart of Maryland

The Maryland Tech Council (MTC) stands at the crossroads of technology and life sciences, fostering a dynamic ecosystem where innovation thrives and transforms lives. “At the Maryland Tech Council, we believe in saving lives, securing our nation, and improving the quality of life through innovation,” says Kelly Schulz, CEO of...

INNOVATION Quebec

SCALE AI

TOWARDS AN AI-POWERED ECONOMY FOR CANADA

As Canada’s AI Global Innovation Cluster, Scale AI acts as an investment and innovation hub to accelerate the adoption and rapid integration of artificial intelligence in supply chains with projects that have a high potential for our economy. Scale AI brings together the pillars of the pan-Canadian AI community, encouraging...

INNOVATE™ Bristol & Bath

COOKPAD

COOKPAD-OUR MISSION IS TO MAKE EVERYDAY COOKING FUN

OUR MISSION IS TO MAKE EVERYDAY COOKING FUN

Cookpad is a tech company working to reconnect the world with everyday cooking. We believe that cooking is the key to a happier and healthier life for people, communities and the planet.   The choices we make shape our world. And when we cook, the choices we make have an...

INNOVATE™ Stockholm

TECHARENA

WHERE INNOVATION BEGINS WITH HUMAN CONNECTION

Techarena is a Nordic-born platform for innovation and entrepreneurship that brings together thousands of founders, investors, business leaders, and policymakers every year. Through high-impact events, accelerator programs, and media channels, Techarena creates opportunities for cross-border collaboration and sustainable growth. From Local Competition to Global Platform What began in 2014 as...

INNOVATE™ South Africa

LE AFRIKA

LE AFRIKA - DISCOVER THE HEALING POWER THAT IS CHANGING THE LIVES OF THOUSANDS AROUND THE WORLD!

DISCOVER THE HEALING POWER THAT IS CHANGING THE LIVES OF THOUSANDS AROUND THE WORLD!

The world is woke… going back to our roots. The new buzzword is #gogreen in terms of health and wellness.   And we’ve been fortunate and blessed with the opportunity of being a part of this new era, introducing and promoting Le Afrika sustainably sourced 100% natural products with their...

INNOVATE® Miami

SkyPlanner

SkyPlanner - We believe in fully integrating ourselves within our clients’ businesses

We believe in fully integrating ourselves within our clients’ businesses

SkyPlanner is a 5-star-rated, Silver Salesforce Consulting & AppExchange Partner based in Miami, FL with offices in Bogota, Colombia, and Vitoria, Brazil specialized in helping companies of all shapes and sizes leverage the power of Salesforce to do more with their businesses. At SkyPlanner, we believe in fully integrating ourselves...

INNOVATE® Chicago Vol.1

NUTRISENSE

NUTRISENSE-Our Mission Is To Help Anyone Reach Their Health Potential.

Our Mission Is To Help Anyone Reach Their Health Potential

Already a successful tech entrepreneur, Alex Skryl had not intended to take on another similar venture. However, Alex was deeply moved by the growing epidemic of chronic disease in the United States. He felt that it was time to put his entrepreneurial mindset towards giving back to the community. Thus,...

INNOVATION Quebec

LA VAGUE

L’ACCÉLÉRATEUR INSULAIRE ÎLES-DE-LA-MADELEINE

La Corporation d’innovation et de développement des Îles, LA VAGUE, est un organisme qui crée un lieu de convergence pour favoriser la synergie entre les acteurs socioéconomiques des Îles-de-laMadeleine et d’ailleurs. Sa vision est orientée vers une économie insulaire durable et créatrice de richesses. Elle offre de l’accompagnement spécialisé pour...

INNOVATE™ Flanders

NEW VALMAR BV

INNOVATION BY AUTOMATION

Our core business is big distribution of baby items in- and outside the EU in a multi-channel setting. That means a lot of requirements by country legal systems and specific customer demands. Customers in more the 45 countries have different needs and requests. They must be reached to be successful....

INNOVATE™ Curitiba

AMCHAM

AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FOR BRAZIL

The American Chamber of Commerce (Amcham) is a non-profit institution present in the Brazilian market since 1919. In more than 100 years of history, it has sought to develop the market in various fronts and currently has branches in 16 cities across the country. Not neglecting its American roots and...

INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2

HAX

SOLVING HARD PROBLEMS WITH HARD TECH

SOSV’S HAX is the world’s most active early stage investor in hard tech – the difficult to build physical tech at the forefront of science and engineering in disciplines like robotics, material science, and chemistry. Many investors have shied away from hard tech, and the last 30 years of the...

Business team collaborating in an innovation community

Businesses that are resilient don’t usually rely on their own resources alone. They usually have strong networks of customers, suppliers, partners, and local institutions around them that help them notice changes early and act quickly. Those connections give you useful information, practical help, and better choices when a supply chain...

INNOVATE® South Carolina

IT-oLogy

Promote. Teach. Grow.

USC and BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina partnered with IBM in December 2008 to form the Consortium for Enterprise Systems Management. The Consortium was formed in part to encourage young people to learn the skills needed to manage enterprise systems, large-scale computers that process high volume transactions. Since its inception,...

INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition

NEXTGENPRENEUR

Developing Tomorrow’s Leaders Today

NEXTGENPRENEUR is revolutionizing the future for young women and girls, transforming them into tomorrow’s leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs. This powerhouse of empowerment is an edtech and learning platform that arms middle and high-school-aged girls with crucial life and leadership skills missing from traditional education. Leading this bold initiative is Founder...

INNOVATION Quebec

DISTRIQ QUANTUM INNOVATION ZONE

DistriQ, Quantum Innovation Zone, is an organization that provides expertise and infrastructure to foster the emergence and acceleration of innovation in the quantum science and technology sector. DistriQ supports the development of one of the first innovation zones ofthe Quebec government, the Sherbrooke Quantum Innovation Zone. Since its designation in...

INNOVATE® Kansas City

EMPIRE DREAMS

GRASSROOTS VISIONARIES: HOW EMPIRE DREAMS IS REBUILDING EAST-SIDE KC... ONE FAMILY, ONE NEIGHBORHOOD, ONE BUSINESS AT A TIME

Empire Dreams is birthing a new blueprint for urban transformation in East-Side Kansas City neighborhoods long neglected and marginalized by institutions and systems that fueled their disinvestment. Every facet of their work is designed to dismantle systemic racism, generational poverty, and the lingering effects of childhood trauma. Believing that true...

INNOVATE® Chicago Vol.1

STEADFAST

MAKING IT WORK

Steadfast began in 1998 as an internet-technology passion project for Steadfast’s Founder, Karl Zimmerman, when he was only 14 years old. Karl’s dream to help companies with their data hosting and security needs started early on, and through these relationships, Karl learned there was a frustrating gap with many hosting...

INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition

COLDS Collective

LAYING THE FOUNDATION FOR A NEW AGE

COLDS Collective is a creator collective and digital native organisation helping people of African descent navigate and harness Web3 and other emerging technologies. United by the mission to educate, grow and innovate collectively, COLDS Collective is harnessing the power of bits (technology) to make tangible, positive changes in atoms (real...

INNOVATE™ Flanders

VIL

Empowering logistics for over 20 years

Creating added value for and enhancing competitiveness of all Flemish companies with logistics operations is VIL’s main focus. And it has been for over twenty years. From a small non-profit organization, VIL has grown to be a hands-on, company driven organization, with a staff of 35 employees. Since 2017 VIL...

INNOVATE® Miami

SunVessel

SunVessel - Transforming the way we travel around our country

Transforming the way we travel around our country

SunVessel is a network of smart charging stations for electric and robotic personal mobility devices installed in partnering hotels, offices, and apartment buildings. We are the next-generation transportation amenity. Our stations lock, charge, and teach users how to ride in a seamless manner. Users can come up to our stations...

Global Innovation Spotlight

The New MVP Tech Stack: What Forward-Thinking Founders Are Betting On in 2026

The New MVP Tech Stack: What Forward-Thinking Founders Are Betting On in 2026 Somewhere right now, a founder is about to spend $120,000 building an MVP that could have been shipped for $25,000. Not because the cheaper version would be worse. Because the founder picked the wrong tech stack for...

INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports

OAKWOOD UNIVERSITY

OAKWOOD UNIVERSITY-IF YOU BUILD IT

IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME...” THIS MISQUOTED LINE DERIVED FROM THE MOVIE, FIELD OF DREAMS, IS OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH STARTUP DEVELOPMENT. IT SOUNDS GOOD BUT UNFORTUNATELY IT IS NOT REALISTIC

What does work is the act of providing a reason for why they should come. That is the central theme of Oakwood University’s Entrepreneurship Center, OU Launchpad, and it is why gaming is at the heart of the center’s success. OU Launchpad is structured around ideation and microentrepreneurship. These two...

INNOVATE™ Vancouver Vol.2

OMNICART

A SAAS PLATFORM AND DELIVERY OPERATING SYSTEM FOR ENTREPRENEURS WHO WANT TO BUILD AND SCALE

OMNICART-A SAAS PLATFORM AND DELIVERY OPERATING SYSTEM FOR ENTREPRENEURS WHO WANT TO BUILD AND SCALE A DELIVERY BUSINESS, AND WE ARE ON A MISSION TO EMPOWER EVERYONE TO UNLOCK THE POTENTIAL OF ON-DEMAND DELIVERY. In the same way that Shopify made it easier for anyone to start and scale an...

INNOVATE® Miami

Penpal Schools

Helping teachers connect their students to learn with penpals around the world and from different backgrounds

PenPal Schools PenPal Schools is the world’s largest project-based learning community, with over a quarter million students in 150 countries. Students collaborate through online projects ranging from human rights and the environment to fake news and robotics, all while practicing literacy, technology, and social-emotional skills. PenPal Schools was recognized by...

Ecosystems