Stories of Innovation
INNOVATE™ Kenya
NERDHUB KENYA
OUR MISSION IS TO UTILIZE OUR ESPORTS CENTRE TO HELP GIVE YOUNG ASPIRING ESPORT ATHLETES A PLATFORM TO GROW THEIR ESPORTS CAREERS AND COMPETE ON THE WORLD STAGE
Nerdhub Kenya was started as a platform to give talented Kenyan youth an opportunity to grow. Kenya is an underdeveloped country where youth really struggle to follow their dreams. We are giving the youth the opportunity to be the next pop star, Esports champion, Comic artist, Dancer etc. We are...
INNOVATE® Nashville
THNKS
SPARKING A MOVEMENT OF GRATITUDE
At Thnks, our mission is to leverage technology and the science of gratitude to help establish and build strong relationships for the modern world, through efficient, personalized, and thoughtful appreciation. Thnks has created a movement in workplaces with over 15,000 Thnks sent every week — helping business professionals improve their...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
FINCLUSION GROUP
WHO ARE THE FINCLUSION GROUP?
FINCLUSION GROUP IS ENHANCING FINANCIAL INCLUSION IN AFRICA BY COMBINING A WORLD-CLASS PRODUCT OFFERING WITH TOP OF THE LINE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES TO CATER FOR THE NEEDS OF THOSE TRADITIONALLY EXCLUDED FROM THE FORMAL FINANCIAL SECTOR. Finclusion Group is a diverse team of fintech professionals and entrepreneurs. They are passionate about...
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
BuildWithin
Potential over Credential
A pioneering company stands tall in the bustling world of tech innovation and workforce development in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region. BuildWithin, an emblem of transformative learning and forward thinking solutions, marks a significant shift in how we approach skill development and career growth. This journey of innovation began with...
INNOVATION Quebec
THE CONCORDIA APPLIED AI INSTITUTE (AI2)
The Concordia Applied AI Institute (AI2) is a multidisciplinary applied research unit representing more than 120 Faculty members and their graduate students from the 4 Concordia University Faculties: Arts and Science, Fine Arts, Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science, and John Molson School of Business. Organized in 3...
INNOVATE® Nashville
AllianceBernstein
Focused on Expanding our Talent Pipeline through Strategic Relationship
AllianceBernstein (AB) is a leading global investment management firm, offering diversified investment services to institutional investors, individuals, and private wealth clients in major world markets. In 2018, AB announced its relocation from Midtown Manhattan to Nashville, Tennessee, creating 1,000 high-paying jobs. During that process, AB recognized the strength of the...
INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2
BIGGINS LACEY SHAPIRO & CO
BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN COMPANIES AND THEIR SITE SELECTION NEEDS THROUGH LOCATION ECONOMICS®
OUR STORYBiggins Lacy Shapiro & Company (BLS & Co.) is one of the largest independent firms in the specialty fields of site selection and economic development incentives advisory services. Our principals have been delivering our mix of services for more than twenty-five years and arehighly respected leaders in their field....
INNOVATE™ Estonia
THREOD SYSTEMS
EYES IN THE SKY, PRECISION ON THE GROUND: HOW THREOD’S DRONES ARE CHANGING MODERN WARFARE
Estonia’s quiet high-tech success story is redefining how unmanned aircraft support precision strike missions. When Estonia regained independence three decades ago, few imagined the small Baltic nation would become a center of aerospace innovation. Yet in 2012, a group of engineers and defense specialists in a small village near Tallinn...
INNOVATION Quebec
CENTRE PHI
Fondé en 2012, le Centre PHI se consacre à l’innovation aux frontières de la production créative et encourage la conception, le développement, la production et la présentation d’une grande variété de disciplines et de formes, avec un accent sur les technologies numériques et les nouveaux médias. Ses programmes et son...
INNOVATE® Philadelphia: 250 Years of Innovation
United Bank of Philadelphia
So Much More than Banking
Since opening in 1992 under founder Dr. Emma C. Chappell, United Bank of Philadelphia (“the Bank”) has upheld its mission: driving economic inclusion and opportunity in urban communities. Philadelphia has always been a city of visionaries and entrepreneurs, but vision does not turn into a successful business without capital. As...
INNOVATE® Nashville
Polsinelli
What a law firm should be
Companies in Nashville and across the country turn to Polsinelli for more than skilled legal representation. With Polsinelli by their side, they have a strategic partner who brings business-first solutions. Shaped by executive perspective, Polsinelli – a national law firm with over 1,200 attorneys across 25 offices – provides commercially...
INNOVATION Quebec
CQRDA
About the CQRDAAmong the first organizations in Quebec to promote and encourage the transformation of Quebec’s green aluminium, the CQRDA is the intermediary between public research centers and aluminium producers and transformers. With funding from the Ministère de l’Économie, de l’Innovation et de l’Énergie (MEIE), the CQRDA provides financial assistance,...
INNOVATE® Blockchain
ENLEDGER
Is a story of fortuitous serendipity and strange coincidence, a random meeting of minds and a coming together of disparate expertise, chasing wild breakthrough ideas in data science and blockchain incentives engineering
Jason Dispenza, an energy exec running a solar energy and building performance company in D.C., meets Ryan Molecke, cryptocurrency exchange technical officer, on a tour bus taking the Icelandic Southern coastal tour, Jan 2016. By the next year, they are paired up with a new blockchain energy applications company, pitching...
INNOVATE™ Bristol & Bath
Bristol and Bath Science Park
With Existing Innovation Space and Development Plots, the BBSP is Designed to Support Science and Technology Businesses, and to Actively Create Opportunities to Share Knowledge and Expertise
Located between Bristol and Bath in the UK, the Bristol and Bath Science Park (BBSP) is the ideal place to grow your science and technology business. The site is home to the National Composites Centre and Institute of Advanced Automotive Propulsion Systems. The Bristol and Bath Science Park members include...
INNOVATE™ Adelaide
THINK.DIGITAL
INNOVATING TRAINING AND EDUCATION IN AGRICULTURE
Think Digital is one of Australia’s leading innovative XR studios creating VR, AR and AI solutions for agriculture, to assist with marketing, education, training and on farm productivity gains. Founders Tim Gentle and Kat Bidstrup both have strong links to agriculture, having grown up in regional Australia – Kat on...
INNOVATE® Chicago Vol.1
SONGFINCH
Is a Platform to Discover and Collaborate With Thousands of Musicians to Create Personalized, One-of-a-Kind Songs
Since launching, Songfinch has grown into the leading creator marketplace for musicians touting some of the most influential names in music and tech as investors, including music icon Quincy Jones, current music superstars Abel ‘The Weeknd’ Tesfaye and Amala ‘Doja Cat’ Dlamini, Atlantic Records CEO Craig Kallman, School of Rock...
INNOVATE™ Estonia
TFTAK
PIONEERING FOOD INNOVATION
The Center of Food and Fermentation Technologies (TFTAK), a multidisciplinary CRO based in Estonia, has been a driving force in the advancement of food science and biotechnology since its establishment in 2004. With a mission to support companies in refining bio processes and developing groundbreaking food products, TFTAK has established...
Global Innovation Spotlight
Flutterwave’s Olugbenga Agboola
What It Takes To Found a Successful Tech Firm
Take it from someone who knows: Scaling a firm from simple startup to unicorn status isn’t for the faint of heart. For Olugbenga “GB” Agboola, the founder and CEO of the African e-payments platform Flutterwave, earning a valuation of more than $1 billion wasn’t about having the best idea or...
INNOVATE™ Oeiras
AUCHAN RETAIL PORTUGAL
Global And Family Group
Auchan Retail is a global and family group, a people-centred company, a historic distributor and a next generation retailer present in 13 countries. In Portugal Auchan claims to be a militant brand of what is “Bom, São e Local” (Good, Healthy and Local). This is a movement that invests in...
INNOVATE™ Toronto
MOUNTX
Making Real Estate Investments Accessible To Everyone
At MountX we build a safe and simple marketplace that eliminates the inaccessibility and bureaucracy of traditional investments by making real estate investments accessible to everyone, without a large financial investment or previous experience. MountX Real Estate Capital Corp. is creating the next generation of digital financial products to...
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...
INNOVATE® Milwaukee
7RIVERS
THE CONFLUENCE OF DATA AND STRATEGY
7Rivers is pioneering a path for businesses to navigate the uncharted waters of a new era of technology.With a keen focus on data modernization and artificial intelligence, 7Rivers is not just a technology services company but a leader for organizations ready to embark on a transformative journey, helping solve some...
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
COMPOSITION ID
A SCIENCE-BASED APPROACH TO HEALTH & FITNESS WITH COMPOSITION ID
Composition ID is a health and fitness company that uses science and technology to help individuals reach their health goals. It utilizes a highly accurate form of body composition testing called a DEXA scan to assess baseline body composition and track changes over time. Composition ID also offers Resting Metabolic...
INNOVATE™ Kenya
NERDHUB KENYA
OUR MISSION IS TO UTILIZE OUR ESPORTS CENTRE TO HELP GIVE YOUNG ASPIRING ESPORT ATHLETES A PLATFORM TO GROW THEIR ESPORTS CAREERS AND COMPETE ON THE WORLD STAGE
Nerdhub Kenya was started as a platform to give talented Kenyan youth an opportunity to grow. Kenya is an underdeveloped country where youth really struggle to follow their dreams. We are giving the youth the opportunity to be the next pop star, Esports champion, Comic artist, Dancer etc. We are...
INNOVATE® Nashville
THNKS
SPARKING A MOVEMENT OF GRATITUDE
At Thnks, our mission is to leverage technology and the science of gratitude to help establish and build strong relationships for the modern world, through efficient, personalized, and thoughtful appreciation. Thnks has created a movement in workplaces with over 15,000 Thnks sent every week — helping business professionals improve their...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
FINCLUSION GROUP
WHO ARE THE FINCLUSION GROUP?
FINCLUSION GROUP IS ENHANCING FINANCIAL INCLUSION IN AFRICA BY COMBINING A WORLD-CLASS PRODUCT OFFERING WITH TOP OF THE LINE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES TO CATER FOR THE NEEDS OF THOSE TRADITIONALLY EXCLUDED FROM THE FORMAL FINANCIAL SECTOR. Finclusion Group is a diverse team of fintech professionals and entrepreneurs. They are passionate about...
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
BuildWithin
Potential over Credential
A pioneering company stands tall in the bustling world of tech innovation and workforce development in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region. BuildWithin, an emblem of transformative learning and forward thinking solutions, marks a significant shift in how we approach skill development and career growth. This journey of innovation began with...
INNOVATION Quebec
THE CONCORDIA APPLIED AI INSTITUTE (AI2)
The Concordia Applied AI Institute (AI2) is a multidisciplinary applied research unit representing more than 120 Faculty members and their graduate students from the 4 Concordia University Faculties: Arts and Science, Fine Arts, Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science, and John Molson School of Business. Organized in 3...
INNOVATE® Nashville
AllianceBernstein
Focused on Expanding our Talent Pipeline through Strategic Relationship
AllianceBernstein (AB) is a leading global investment management firm, offering diversified investment services to institutional investors, individuals, and private wealth clients in major world markets. In 2018, AB announced its relocation from Midtown Manhattan to Nashville, Tennessee, creating 1,000 high-paying jobs. During that process, AB recognized the strength of the...
INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2
BIGGINS LACEY SHAPIRO & CO
BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN COMPANIES AND THEIR SITE SELECTION NEEDS THROUGH LOCATION ECONOMICS®
OUR STORYBiggins Lacy Shapiro & Company (BLS & Co.) is one of the largest independent firms in the specialty fields of site selection and economic development incentives advisory services. Our principals have been delivering our mix of services for more than twenty-five years and arehighly respected leaders in their field....
INNOVATE™ Estonia
THREOD SYSTEMS
EYES IN THE SKY, PRECISION ON THE GROUND: HOW THREOD’S DRONES ARE CHANGING MODERN WARFARE
Estonia’s quiet high-tech success story is redefining how unmanned aircraft support precision strike missions. When Estonia regained independence three decades ago, few imagined the small Baltic nation would become a center of aerospace innovation. Yet in 2012, a group of engineers and defense specialists in a small village near Tallinn...
INNOVATION Quebec
CENTRE PHI
Fondé en 2012, le Centre PHI se consacre à l’innovation aux frontières de la production créative et encourage la conception, le développement, la production et la présentation d’une grande variété de disciplines et de formes, avec un accent sur les technologies numériques et les nouveaux médias. Ses programmes et son...
INNOVATE® Philadelphia: 250 Years of Innovation
United Bank of Philadelphia
So Much More than Banking
Since opening in 1992 under founder Dr. Emma C. Chappell, United Bank of Philadelphia (“the Bank”) has upheld its mission: driving economic inclusion and opportunity in urban communities. Philadelphia has always been a city of visionaries and entrepreneurs, but vision does not turn into a successful business without capital. As...
INNOVATE® Nashville
Polsinelli
What a law firm should be
Companies in Nashville and across the country turn to Polsinelli for more than skilled legal representation. With Polsinelli by their side, they have a strategic partner who brings business-first solutions. Shaped by executive perspective, Polsinelli – a national law firm with over 1,200 attorneys across 25 offices – provides commercially...
INNOVATION Quebec
CQRDA
About the CQRDAAmong the first organizations in Quebec to promote and encourage the transformation of Quebec’s green aluminium, the CQRDA is the intermediary between public research centers and aluminium producers and transformers. With funding from the Ministère de l’Économie, de l’Innovation et de l’Énergie (MEIE), the CQRDA provides financial assistance,...
INNOVATE® Blockchain
ENLEDGER
Is a story of fortuitous serendipity and strange coincidence, a random meeting of minds and a coming together of disparate expertise, chasing wild breakthrough ideas in data science and blockchain incentives engineering
Jason Dispenza, an energy exec running a solar energy and building performance company in D.C., meets Ryan Molecke, cryptocurrency exchange technical officer, on a tour bus taking the Icelandic Southern coastal tour, Jan 2016. By the next year, they are paired up with a new blockchain energy applications company, pitching...
INNOVATE™ Bristol & Bath
Bristol and Bath Science Park
With Existing Innovation Space and Development Plots, the BBSP is Designed to Support Science and Technology Businesses, and to Actively Create Opportunities to Share Knowledge and Expertise
Located between Bristol and Bath in the UK, the Bristol and Bath Science Park (BBSP) is the ideal place to grow your science and technology business. The site is home to the National Composites Centre and Institute of Advanced Automotive Propulsion Systems. The Bristol and Bath Science Park members include...
INNOVATE™ Adelaide
THINK.DIGITAL
INNOVATING TRAINING AND EDUCATION IN AGRICULTURE
Think Digital is one of Australia’s leading innovative XR studios creating VR, AR and AI solutions for agriculture, to assist with marketing, education, training and on farm productivity gains. Founders Tim Gentle and Kat Bidstrup both have strong links to agriculture, having grown up in regional Australia – Kat on...
INNOVATE® Chicago Vol.1
SONGFINCH
Is a Platform to Discover and Collaborate With Thousands of Musicians to Create Personalized, One-of-a-Kind Songs
Since launching, Songfinch has grown into the leading creator marketplace for musicians touting some of the most influential names in music and tech as investors, including music icon Quincy Jones, current music superstars Abel ‘The Weeknd’ Tesfaye and Amala ‘Doja Cat’ Dlamini, Atlantic Records CEO Craig Kallman, School of Rock...
INNOVATE™ Estonia
TFTAK
PIONEERING FOOD INNOVATION
The Center of Food and Fermentation Technologies (TFTAK), a multidisciplinary CRO based in Estonia, has been a driving force in the advancement of food science and biotechnology since its establishment in 2004. With a mission to support companies in refining bio processes and developing groundbreaking food products, TFTAK has established...
Global Innovation Spotlight
Flutterwave’s Olugbenga Agboola
What It Takes To Found a Successful Tech Firm
Take it from someone who knows: Scaling a firm from simple startup to unicorn status isn’t for the faint of heart. For Olugbenga “GB” Agboola, the founder and CEO of the African e-payments platform Flutterwave, earning a valuation of more than $1 billion wasn’t about having the best idea or...
INNOVATE™ Oeiras
AUCHAN RETAIL PORTUGAL
Global And Family Group
Auchan Retail is a global and family group, a people-centred company, a historic distributor and a next generation retailer present in 13 countries. In Portugal Auchan claims to be a militant brand of what is “Bom, São e Local” (Good, Healthy and Local). This is a movement that invests in...
INNOVATE™ Toronto
MOUNTX
Making Real Estate Investments Accessible To Everyone
At MountX we build a safe and simple marketplace that eliminates the inaccessibility and bureaucracy of traditional investments by making real estate investments accessible to everyone, without a large financial investment or previous experience. MountX Real Estate Capital Corp. is creating the next generation of digital financial products to...
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...
INNOVATE® Milwaukee
7RIVERS
THE CONFLUENCE OF DATA AND STRATEGY
7Rivers is pioneering a path for businesses to navigate the uncharted waters of a new era of technology.With a keen focus on data modernization and artificial intelligence, 7Rivers is not just a technology services company but a leader for organizations ready to embark on a transformative journey, helping solve some...
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
COMPOSITION ID
A SCIENCE-BASED APPROACH TO HEALTH & FITNESS WITH COMPOSITION ID
Composition ID is a health and fitness company that uses science and technology to help individuals reach their health goals. It utilizes a highly accurate form of body composition testing called a DEXA scan to assess baseline body composition and track changes over time. Composition ID also offers Resting Metabolic...