Stories of Innovation
INNOVATE® Nashville
DTB Advisors
Sports Entertainment & Hospitality Speciality Advisory
SpykeFire: Pioneering Autonomous Fire Detection in Challenging Environments David Buttrey, a Nashville native, a co-owner of SpykeFire, joined by two other Nashville natives among the company’s leadership and early supporters of founder and Veteran Todd Melcher and 30 year CA Fire Captain Robert Rowe. This connection underscores how Nashville’s burgeoning...
INNOVATION Quebec
CHAIRE DE RECHERCHE EN PRÉVENTION DE LA CYBERCRIMINALITÉ – UNIVERSITÉ DE MONTRÉAL
COMPRENDRE COMMENT PRÉVENIR LA CYBERCRIMINALITÉ, ET PROTÉGER SES VICTIMES CONTRE LES DOMMAGES QU’ELLE LEUR CAUSE
La Chaire de recherche en prévention de la cybercriminalité a été lancée en septembre 2018 à l’initiative de l’Université de Montréal, de Desjardins et de la Banque Nationale du Canada. Elle est dirigée par Benoît Dupont, professeur de criminologie et chercheur au Centre international de criminologie comparée de l’Université de...
INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports
STEMFUSE
EDUCATION AND ESPORTS: How Esports can be used to reimagine Business and Multimedia Classrooms
STEM Fuse is a developer of digital K-12 STEM and CTE curriculum and PD, working with 12,000+ schools across the country. We were founded in 2009 with the mission to help schools deliver engaging STEM programs to prepare students for the fastest growing career opportunities. The Founder, Carter Tatge, was...
INNOVATE™ Toronto
PORTAGE VENTURES
A GLOBAL FINTECH VENTURE CAPITAL INVESTOR
Portage Ventures (“Portage”) is a venture investor that partners with some of the world’s most innovative financial technology companies. Portage is the venture capital arm of multi-asset class alternative investment firm Sagard. It was cofounded in 2016 by Paul Desmarais III (Executive Chairman and CEO of Sagard) and Adam Felesky...
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® Detroit
PURPOSE JOBS
The Startup Storytellers
Everyone has heard about Apple, or Meta, or Uber. But what about StockX, or Autobooks, or KLA? When the economy crashed in 2008, it was standard for Michiganders to graduate from school here and find work in another state. Many flocked to tech jobs on the coasts. But in the...
INNOVATE™ Curitiba
ELECTROLUX GROUP
SHAPING LIVING FOR THE BETTER FOR OVER A CENTURY
Since 1996 in Curitiba, the city is a hub for global innovation in home appliances. Founded in 1919 by Axel Wenner-Gren in Sweden and present in more than 120 countries, Electrolux Group is a global leader in household and professional appliances. For over a century, the company has been dedicated...
INNOVATE™ Antwerp Vol.2
MEDIA OFFICE
AUDIO VISUAL FULL SERVICE
Founded in 1995, Media Office has evolved and grown into a System Integrator. Our aim is to offer our clients a ‘one-stop-shopping’ experience, where we design and integrate audio-visual solutions not only for meeting rooms and training classrooms, but for any area in your building. Over the years, we have...
INNOVATE® Nashville
THE TABLE
TAKES ACTION TO BRING EQUITY AND INCLUSION TO NASHVILLE
A new membership organization started in Nashville is growing rapidly. The Table is resonating with the business community because the goal is bold – to make Nashville the model city for equity and inclusiveness by taking action to create opportunities to grow prosperity for people of color. Started in October...
INNOVATION Quebec
MAIN
IS THE MOVEMENT OF QUEBEC INNOVATION ACCELERATORS
Since 2016, we have firmly embraced the notion that by promoting collaboration and the mutual exchange of practices and resources (movement) among all those involved in accelerating startup growth (accelerators), we can amplify the impact of startups (innovation) from all regions of Quebec. Our goal is to ensure that every...
INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports
DYNAMIK FOCUS
Creating local and digital activations at events or on streaming platforms to help promote your product or service
Dynamik Focus was Founded in October 2016 By Aziza Brown. After varying experiences with previous esports teams, and seeing a need for representation and structure in the growing esports space, she partnered with former teammate Devin Harris, and Dynamik Focus was born. Soon after the organization was founded, Dynamik Focus...
INNOVATE™ Curitiba
ROCKET
BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN NICHE INNOVATION AND MAINSTREAM MEDIA
Having started in 2019 as a web-only reality show for local startups, Rocket has now developed into a full universe of multi-platform content and unforgettable live experiences with the goal to foment, give visibility, and highlight the positive impact of innovation and entrepreneurship in everyone’s lives. Though an important topic...
INNOVATE™ Curitiba
MPS INFORMÁTICA
FOUNDED IN 1984, MPS INFORMÁTICA HAS A CONSOLIDATED POSITION AS ONE OF THE MOST RECOGNIZED COMPANIES
FOUNDED IN 1984, MPS INFORMÁTICA HAS A CONSOLIDATED POSITION AS ONE OF THE MOST RECOGNIZED COMPANIES IN BRAZIL, SPECIALIZED IN SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) CONSULTANCY. As a traditional provider of corporate services and systems for the public and private sectors, MPS’ purpose is to help its customers develop,...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
DYNAMIC BRANDS MANUFACTURING (PTY) LTD
Birthed from humble beginnings within the Eastern Cape, Dynamic Brands Manufacturing (Pty) Ltd began its journey when current CEO, John Kew, identified a unique gap in the dilutable dairy blend market. Like many great entrepreneurial minds before him, John believed in the power of ideas that at first may not...
INNOVATE™ Curitiba
SANEPAR
INNOVABILITY IN WATER AND SANITATION SERVICES FOR CURITIBA PEOPLE
The Water and Sanitation Company of Paraná State (Sanepar), a Brazilian mixed economy and publicly traded company, marked its 60th anniversary in 2023, reaffirming its steadfast dedication to innovability the seamless integration of sustainability and innovation – deeply ingrained in its corporate culture focused on generating societal value. Sanepar consistently...
INNOVATE® South Carolina
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON
THE OLDEST INSTITUTION IN SOUTH CAROLINA REMAINS THE BOLDEST IN EMBRACING INNOVATION AND NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR STUDENT SUCCESS
The College of Charleston is a nationally recognized public university located in the heart of historic Charleston, South Carolina. Founded in 1770 and rooted in the liberal arts and sciences, the College of Charleston is among the nation’s top universities for quality education, student life and affordability. The College of...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
FARM SANCTUARY SA
PIGCASSO INSPIRING A KINDER, MORE SUSTAINABLE WORLD
A painting pig from Farm Sanctuary SA is hogging the limelight and inspiring animal lovers to make the connection between what they eat and the industries that they support. When South African Joanne Lefson rescued a small piglet from a local industrialized hog facility in 2016, she knew this...
INNOVATE® Milwaukee
CODEBABY
AI THAT ENHANCES HUMAN CAPACITY
As AI reshapes industries, CodeBaby leads in emotionally intelligent, human-centric AI. Specializing in real-time, 3D animated avatars, CodeBaby bridges the gap between automation and authentic interaction—enhancing, rather than replacing, human capacity. Founded to improve communication and accessibility, CodeBaby redefines engagement in education, healthcare, customer service and workforce training. By merging...
INNOVATE® Miami
Gaming Frog
Win cash & prizes playing your favorite video games
Gaming Frog is an eSport platform that allows gamers to play their favorite games for cash and prizes. , Juan Duque – Founder & CTO Lucas Romero – CEO Juan and I met playing Call of Duty: MW2, in 2009. At the time I was living in Colombia and he...
Global Innovation Spotlight
Education 2025-2026: new formats, key trends, and the role of Lectera
The field of education is evolving at an unprecedented rate. Technology, new methods, and societal changes are shaping a completely different approach to learning. All of this makes knowledge more accessible and the process itself more flexible and tailored to the needs of each student. This approach is being implemented...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
NEDBANK
A SIGNIFICANT FOCUS ON DIGITISATION ALLOWS NEDBANK TO MEET FAST-CHANGING BANKING CUSTOMER NEEDS
Digitisation and technological innovation are nothing new to the South African banking industry, but those banks that had made significant progress on their digital journeys before the Covid-19 pandemic, have been best placed to meet the fast-changing needs of their clients and, as is the case with Nedbank, gain efficiencies...
INNOVATE® Nashville
Vanderbilt University
Innovation at Vanderbilt
An R1 research institution, Vanderbilt University is known for pathbreaking research, advancing discoveries and fueling breakthroughs across multiple disciplines. With more than $1 billion in annual research expenditures, Vanderbilt fosters cross-disciplinary collaboration with global impact. But Vanderbilt isn’t just a research university, it’s a powerful economic engine that turns ideas...
INNOVATE® Seattle
Aperon Corporation
Is revolutionizing the way cannabis is traded by democratizing the global supply chain and building a brand new space for everyone to thrive.
Is revolutionizing the way cannabis is traded by democratizing the global supply chain and building a brand new space for everyone to thrive. Aperon Corporation founded in 2016 by Seattle native Jhavid Mohseni, Aperon Corp has innovated the entire industry by developing key technology tools for stakeholders that allow for...
INNOVATE™ Adelaide
SAGE
CREATING A SMARTER FUTURE, BETTER WORLD
SAGE is a specialist industrial digitalisation services provider, combining the best thinking with world-leading technology to deliver the best outcome. SAGE’s specialist businesses – SAGE Automation, Nukon, Skills Lab and Embedded Expertise – work with organisations to deliver strategy and horizon phasing, automation of industrial operations, data-driven business transformation, training...
INNOVATE® Nashville
DTB Advisors
Sports Entertainment & Hospitality Speciality Advisory
SpykeFire: Pioneering Autonomous Fire Detection in Challenging Environments David Buttrey, a Nashville native, a co-owner of SpykeFire, joined by two other Nashville natives among the company’s leadership and early supporters of founder and Veteran Todd Melcher and 30 year CA Fire Captain Robert Rowe. This connection underscores how Nashville’s burgeoning...
INNOVATION Quebec
CHAIRE DE RECHERCHE EN PRÉVENTION DE LA CYBERCRIMINALITÉ – UNIVERSITÉ DE MONTRÉAL
COMPRENDRE COMMENT PRÉVENIR LA CYBERCRIMINALITÉ, ET PROTÉGER SES VICTIMES CONTRE LES DOMMAGES QU’ELLE LEUR CAUSE
La Chaire de recherche en prévention de la cybercriminalité a été lancée en septembre 2018 à l’initiative de l’Université de Montréal, de Desjardins et de la Banque Nationale du Canada. Elle est dirigée par Benoît Dupont, professeur de criminologie et chercheur au Centre international de criminologie comparée de l’Université de...
INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports
STEMFUSE
EDUCATION AND ESPORTS: How Esports can be used to reimagine Business and Multimedia Classrooms
STEM Fuse is a developer of digital K-12 STEM and CTE curriculum and PD, working with 12,000+ schools across the country. We were founded in 2009 with the mission to help schools deliver engaging STEM programs to prepare students for the fastest growing career opportunities. The Founder, Carter Tatge, was...
INNOVATE™ Toronto
PORTAGE VENTURES
A GLOBAL FINTECH VENTURE CAPITAL INVESTOR
Portage Ventures (“Portage”) is a venture investor that partners with some of the world’s most innovative financial technology companies. Portage is the venture capital arm of multi-asset class alternative investment firm Sagard. It was cofounded in 2016 by Paul Desmarais III (Executive Chairman and CEO of Sagard) and Adam Felesky...
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® Detroit
PURPOSE JOBS
The Startup Storytellers
Everyone has heard about Apple, or Meta, or Uber. But what about StockX, or Autobooks, or KLA? When the economy crashed in 2008, it was standard for Michiganders to graduate from school here and find work in another state. Many flocked to tech jobs on the coasts. But in the...
INNOVATE™ Curitiba
ELECTROLUX GROUP
SHAPING LIVING FOR THE BETTER FOR OVER A CENTURY
Since 1996 in Curitiba, the city is a hub for global innovation in home appliances. Founded in 1919 by Axel Wenner-Gren in Sweden and present in more than 120 countries, Electrolux Group is a global leader in household and professional appliances. For over a century, the company has been dedicated...
INNOVATE™ Antwerp Vol.2
MEDIA OFFICE
AUDIO VISUAL FULL SERVICE
Founded in 1995, Media Office has evolved and grown into a System Integrator. Our aim is to offer our clients a ‘one-stop-shopping’ experience, where we design and integrate audio-visual solutions not only for meeting rooms and training classrooms, but for any area in your building. Over the years, we have...
INNOVATE® Nashville
THE TABLE
TAKES ACTION TO BRING EQUITY AND INCLUSION TO NASHVILLE
A new membership organization started in Nashville is growing rapidly. The Table is resonating with the business community because the goal is bold – to make Nashville the model city for equity and inclusiveness by taking action to create opportunities to grow prosperity for people of color. Started in October...
INNOVATION Quebec
MAIN
IS THE MOVEMENT OF QUEBEC INNOVATION ACCELERATORS
Since 2016, we have firmly embraced the notion that by promoting collaboration and the mutual exchange of practices and resources (movement) among all those involved in accelerating startup growth (accelerators), we can amplify the impact of startups (innovation) from all regions of Quebec. Our goal is to ensure that every...
INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports
DYNAMIK FOCUS
Creating local and digital activations at events or on streaming platforms to help promote your product or service
Dynamik Focus was Founded in October 2016 By Aziza Brown. After varying experiences with previous esports teams, and seeing a need for representation and structure in the growing esports space, she partnered with former teammate Devin Harris, and Dynamik Focus was born. Soon after the organization was founded, Dynamik Focus...
INNOVATE™ Curitiba
ROCKET
BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN NICHE INNOVATION AND MAINSTREAM MEDIA
Having started in 2019 as a web-only reality show for local startups, Rocket has now developed into a full universe of multi-platform content and unforgettable live experiences with the goal to foment, give visibility, and highlight the positive impact of innovation and entrepreneurship in everyone’s lives. Though an important topic...
INNOVATE™ Curitiba
MPS INFORMÁTICA
FOUNDED IN 1984, MPS INFORMÁTICA HAS A CONSOLIDATED POSITION AS ONE OF THE MOST RECOGNIZED COMPANIES
FOUNDED IN 1984, MPS INFORMÁTICA HAS A CONSOLIDATED POSITION AS ONE OF THE MOST RECOGNIZED COMPANIES IN BRAZIL, SPECIALIZED IN SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) CONSULTANCY. As a traditional provider of corporate services and systems for the public and private sectors, MPS’ purpose is to help its customers develop,...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
DYNAMIC BRANDS MANUFACTURING (PTY) LTD
Birthed from humble beginnings within the Eastern Cape, Dynamic Brands Manufacturing (Pty) Ltd began its journey when current CEO, John Kew, identified a unique gap in the dilutable dairy blend market. Like many great entrepreneurial minds before him, John believed in the power of ideas that at first may not...
INNOVATE™ Curitiba
SANEPAR
INNOVABILITY IN WATER AND SANITATION SERVICES FOR CURITIBA PEOPLE
The Water and Sanitation Company of Paraná State (Sanepar), a Brazilian mixed economy and publicly traded company, marked its 60th anniversary in 2023, reaffirming its steadfast dedication to innovability the seamless integration of sustainability and innovation – deeply ingrained in its corporate culture focused on generating societal value. Sanepar consistently...
INNOVATE® South Carolina
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON
THE OLDEST INSTITUTION IN SOUTH CAROLINA REMAINS THE BOLDEST IN EMBRACING INNOVATION AND NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR STUDENT SUCCESS
The College of Charleston is a nationally recognized public university located in the heart of historic Charleston, South Carolina. Founded in 1770 and rooted in the liberal arts and sciences, the College of Charleston is among the nation’s top universities for quality education, student life and affordability. The College of...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
FARM SANCTUARY SA
PIGCASSO INSPIRING A KINDER, MORE SUSTAINABLE WORLD
A painting pig from Farm Sanctuary SA is hogging the limelight and inspiring animal lovers to make the connection between what they eat and the industries that they support. When South African Joanne Lefson rescued a small piglet from a local industrialized hog facility in 2016, she knew this...
INNOVATE® Milwaukee
CODEBABY
AI THAT ENHANCES HUMAN CAPACITY
As AI reshapes industries, CodeBaby leads in emotionally intelligent, human-centric AI. Specializing in real-time, 3D animated avatars, CodeBaby bridges the gap between automation and authentic interaction—enhancing, rather than replacing, human capacity. Founded to improve communication and accessibility, CodeBaby redefines engagement in education, healthcare, customer service and workforce training. By merging...
INNOVATE® Miami
Gaming Frog
Win cash & prizes playing your favorite video games
Gaming Frog is an eSport platform that allows gamers to play their favorite games for cash and prizes. , Juan Duque – Founder & CTO Lucas Romero – CEO Juan and I met playing Call of Duty: MW2, in 2009. At the time I was living in Colombia and he...
Global Innovation Spotlight
Education 2025-2026: new formats, key trends, and the role of Lectera
The field of education is evolving at an unprecedented rate. Technology, new methods, and societal changes are shaping a completely different approach to learning. All of this makes knowledge more accessible and the process itself more flexible and tailored to the needs of each student. This approach is being implemented...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
NEDBANK
A SIGNIFICANT FOCUS ON DIGITISATION ALLOWS NEDBANK TO MEET FAST-CHANGING BANKING CUSTOMER NEEDS
Digitisation and technological innovation are nothing new to the South African banking industry, but those banks that had made significant progress on their digital journeys before the Covid-19 pandemic, have been best placed to meet the fast-changing needs of their clients and, as is the case with Nedbank, gain efficiencies...
INNOVATE® Nashville
Vanderbilt University
Innovation at Vanderbilt
An R1 research institution, Vanderbilt University is known for pathbreaking research, advancing discoveries and fueling breakthroughs across multiple disciplines. With more than $1 billion in annual research expenditures, Vanderbilt fosters cross-disciplinary collaboration with global impact. But Vanderbilt isn’t just a research university, it’s a powerful economic engine that turns ideas...
INNOVATE® Seattle
Aperon Corporation
Is revolutionizing the way cannabis is traded by democratizing the global supply chain and building a brand new space for everyone to thrive.
Is revolutionizing the way cannabis is traded by democratizing the global supply chain and building a brand new space for everyone to thrive. Aperon Corporation founded in 2016 by Seattle native Jhavid Mohseni, Aperon Corp has innovated the entire industry by developing key technology tools for stakeholders that allow for...
INNOVATE™ Adelaide
SAGE
CREATING A SMARTER FUTURE, BETTER WORLD
SAGE is a specialist industrial digitalisation services provider, combining the best thinking with world-leading technology to deliver the best outcome. SAGE’s specialist businesses – SAGE Automation, Nukon, Skills Lab and Embedded Expertise – work with organisations to deliver strategy and horizon phasing, automation of industrial operations, data-driven business transformation, training...