Stories of Innovation

INNOVATE® Seattle

Path Ahead Ventures

Path Ahead Ventures (PAV) is focused on ensuring the outdoor industry reflects the true diversity of the people who love, protect, and share life outside.

REI Co-op believes the vibrancy of the outdoor industry depends on the economic mobility and contributions of diverse communities as customers and creators. In 2020, we accelerated our efforts to advance racial equity across every piece of our business and wanted to set bold goals towards diversifying our supplier base,...

INNOVATE® South Florida

35 MULES

FROM ICE PLANT TO INNOVATION POWERHOUSE: THE INSPIRING JOURNEY OF 35 MULES

Nearly a century ago, an ice plant, sponge fishing boat, and 35 hard-working mules formed the foundation of what is today a global energy leader. Fast forward to today, and that humble beginning has paved the way for a groundbreaking innovation hub: 35 Mules. This energetic initiative, backed by NextEra...

INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition

OxiWear

Revolutionizing Health Monitoring with Innovation and Perseverance

“I developed OxiWear for myself to demonstrate that I could live a normal life without letting the disease define me.” In 2019, Shavini Fernando, a visionary innovator and determined entrepreneur, founded OxiWear – a groundbreaking company dedicated to transforming how we monitor and respond to critical health metrics. Diagnosed with...

Global Innovation Spotlight

How to Never Run Out of Gold in World of Warcraft

Most gold guides start the same way. One needs to deal with farming routes, gathering professions, and Auction House flipping. And yes, that stuff works. It always has, in every expansion. Grind the right spot, level the right profession, list at the right time, and repeat. The formula is solid,...

INNOVATION Manitoba

LWNC

HOW LAKEWATER NUTRIENT CAPTURE IS ENGINEERING A SOLUTION TO CANADA’S FRESHWATER PHOSPHORUS CRISIS

A WINNIPEG ENTREPRENEUR IS DEPLOYING A MOBILE BARGE-BASED REMEDIATION PLATFORM TO PULL PHOSPHORUS FROM EUTROPHIC LAKES — AND TURN POLLUTION INTO A PREMIUM AGRICULTURAL PRODUCT. Excess phosphorus in freshwater lakes is one of the most persistent and costly environmental challenges facing municipalities and water managers across Canada and around the...

INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition

iUnit

Building Sustainable, Attainable Communities

Changing the way we live – and build our homes and lives – is no mean feat. That is precisely what iUnit sets out to do. It is a visionary real estate development/tech start-up spearheading a revolution in sustainable housing. Founded by Brice Leconte, iUnit is a trailblazer in merging...

INNOVATION Quebec

Founded in 2017, the Maison de l’innovation sociale (MIS) is an NFP whose mission is to eliminate the obstacles between an idea with a positive social and environmental impact and its implementation. At MIS, we are interested in the precursor stage of a social innovation. We help very early-stage projects...

INNOVATE™ Atlantic Canada

David Sobey Retailing Centre

Shaping the Future of Retail

“In the past decade, retailers have been forced to innovate, and in some cases transform themselves in response to several external factors. Changing consumer behaviour and employee expectations, the advent of AI, and the need to meet sustainability targets are just some of the factors driving big changes in the...

INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports

THE VIRTX INC

THE WORLD’S FIRST BROADCASTING ENABLER / AGGREGATOR PLATFORM IN VIRTUAL REALITY WITH SOCIAL INTERACTION

As the forerunners of “Futuretainment,” The VirtX is the first of its kind broadcasting & streaming aggregating service in Virtual Reality in the form of shared entertainment (live sports/events/movies/gaming) to the B2C audiences. The VirtX is a platform which enables networks to broadcast their live content in Virtual Reality to...

INNOVATE® Georgia

ACKERMAN & CO

A BOLD APPROACH TO DEVELOPMENT

Just two miles southwest of Downtown Atlanta is a sprawling collection of buildings formerly known as “Warehouse Row.” In the 1950s and 1960s, the warehouse buildings were developed to serve as a distribution hub for area grocery stores. Today, the buildings have been transformed into something much different. In the...

INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition

The University of Maryland Institute for Health Computing - MPOWERING THE STATE

Institute for Health Computing Primed to Partner with Life Science Companies.

Institute for Health Computing Primed to Partner with Life Science Companies. The University of Maryland Institute for Health Computing (IHC) is a new academic health research institute in North Bethesda, Maryland, that serves as a hub for health computing innovation and collaboration in Montgomery County. Founded in November 2022, the...

INNOVATE™ Adelaide

PERSONIFY CARE

INNOVATIVE HEALTH TECH PLATFORM ENABLES PATIENTS TO ACCESS THE BEST POSSIBLE CARE

Personify Care is a flexible and scalable health tech platform that accelerates health services to transform their patient experience whilst simultaneously reducing the administrative and cognitive burden on our frontline staff. Led by South Australian CEO Ken Saman, Personify Care’s approach is to support healthcare teams to rapidly adapt and...

INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2

TURTLE

Envisioning the Future Through a Century of Excellence

Founded in 1923, Turtle stands tall as a beacon of enduring success in the US market, marking its presence as one of the largest independent electrical and industrial distribution companies. Having amassed a century of experience, Turtle doesn’t just rest on its past laurels. Instead, it envisions a future illuminated...

INNOVATE™ Alberta

EAVOR

THE FIRST TRULY SCALABLE FORM OF CLEAN BASELOAD POWER

The energy industry is at a moment of reckoning, as the demand globally continues to increase....

INNOVATE® Nashville

S3 RECYCLING

S3 RECYCLING-HASSLE-FREE E-WASTE SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESSES

HASSLE-FREE E-WASTE SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESSES

S3 Recycling Solutions is the right choice for businesses looking for an easy and hassle-free way to responsibly and safely manage excess electronics. Headquartered in Springfield, Tenn., S3 is an award-winning, R2-certified technology recycling firm that provides tailored e-waste solutions to businesses across the nation and in Canada. Since 2007,...

INNOVATE™ Adelaide

FIREFLY BIOTECH

RESEARCH TOOLS THAT ARE OUT OF THIS WORLD

Firefly Biotech is an Adelaide start-up that targets a growing niche between medical research and engineering. They specialise in space medicine and research tools. They also offer advice, expertise and inspiration to the next generation of aspiring space scientists. Founded by Dr Giles Kirby, a thought leader in space medicine...

INNOVATION Quebec

Entrepreneuriat ULaval (EUL)

Is the incubator for innovative andresponsible businesses at Université Laval, in Québec

EUL provides coaching and support to entrepreneurs from the university community who dream big, and whose businesses show high potential in terms of growth and societal impact, to propel them toward success. Louis-Philippe Pleau, CEO & Co-Founder of LumIR Lasers EUL supports start-ups in the field of high technology applied...

INNOVATE® Milwaukee

HSA Bank

HSA BANK IS BUILDING A NEW ERA OF TECHNOLOGY-FOCUSED EXPERIENCES IN FINANCE

HSA BANK IS BUILDING A NEW ERA OF TECHNOLOGY-FOCUSED EXPERIENCES IN FINANCE Technology-driven experience and innovation have the potential to transform employee benefits from a traditional offering into a strategic differentiator for organizations. The benefits sector, traditionally not seen as a tech ‘powerhouse’, is undergoing rapid change as organizations leverage...

INNOVATE™ South Africa

CREATING KLEIN JAN

CREATING KLEIN JAN - CREATIVITY IN THE KALAHARI

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™ Atlantic Canada

VIDCRUITER

FROM A TEAM OF TWO TO 100+ – VIDCRUITER DRIVES THE FUTURE OF DIGITAL RECRUITMENT

When Sean Fahey, CEO of VidCruiter, was faced with a challenge of hiring 200 people in a time crunch, he learned how frustrating and inefficient it was to find and hire candidates the traditional way. He asked, “What if there’s a way to improve and scale the interviewing process for...

INNOVATE™ Curitiba

EBANX

LEADING PAYMENTS PARTNER FOR GLOBAL COMPANIES IN RISING MARKETS

EBANX is a global technology company that offers payment solutions to connect clients from rising markets and global companies, promoting access to their products and services. Through technology and a proprietary platform, EBANX enables global companies to offer local payment methods from countries in the fastest-growing regions: Latin America, Africa...

INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition

Union Kitchen

HOW A FOOD BUSINESS ACCELERATOR IN WASHINGTON,DC IS PAVING THE WAY FOR THE NEXT BIG CPG BRANDS

Cullen Gilchrist founded Union Kitchen in 2012 to partner with food businesses of all sizes to grow and scale their success. Cullen got his start in the food industry with his sister and friends when they opened the Blind Dog Cafe. Faced with the challenge of increased demand and not...

INNOVATE™ Estonia

AUVE TECH

DRIVING ESTONIA’S AUTONOMOUS FUTURE, ONE SHORT ROUTE AT A TIME

Cities are stitched together by infrastructure – roads, rails, sidewalks, and transit routes. Yet for many, that final stretch between a transit stop and the destination is the hardest to bridge. Often, commuters surrender to convenience, hailing a car instead and adding congestion and emissions to already-strained streets. Estonia’s Auve...

INNOVATE® South Carolina

South Coast Cyber Center

Empowering Individuals, the Business Community, and Government with the Skills and Knowledge to Navigate the Increasingly Complex World of Cybersecurity.

The South Coast Cyber Center, a nonprofit located in Beaufort, South Carolina, is an integral player in the region’s technology ecosystem, offering a collaborative approach to education, training, and economic development. The work of the Cyber Center focuses on empowering individuals, the business community, and government with the skills and...

INNOVATE® Seattle

Path Ahead Ventures

Path Ahead Ventures (PAV) is focused on ensuring the outdoor industry reflects the true diversity of the people who love, protect, and share life outside.

REI Co-op believes the vibrancy of the outdoor industry depends on the economic mobility and contributions of diverse communities as customers and creators. In 2020, we accelerated our efforts to advance racial equity across every piece of our business and wanted to set bold goals towards diversifying our supplier base,...

INNOVATE® South Florida

35 MULES

FROM ICE PLANT TO INNOVATION POWERHOUSE: THE INSPIRING JOURNEY OF 35 MULES

Nearly a century ago, an ice plant, sponge fishing boat, and 35 hard-working mules formed the foundation of what is today a global energy leader. Fast forward to today, and that humble beginning has paved the way for a groundbreaking innovation hub: 35 Mules. This energetic initiative, backed by NextEra...

INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition

OxiWear

Revolutionizing Health Monitoring with Innovation and Perseverance

“I developed OxiWear for myself to demonstrate that I could live a normal life without letting the disease define me.” In 2019, Shavini Fernando, a visionary innovator and determined entrepreneur, founded OxiWear – a groundbreaking company dedicated to transforming how we monitor and respond to critical health metrics. Diagnosed with...

Global Innovation Spotlight

How to Never Run Out of Gold in World of Warcraft

Most gold guides start the same way. One needs to deal with farming routes, gathering professions, and Auction House flipping. And yes, that stuff works. It always has, in every expansion. Grind the right spot, level the right profession, list at the right time, and repeat. The formula is solid,...

INNOVATION Manitoba

LWNC

HOW LAKEWATER NUTRIENT CAPTURE IS ENGINEERING A SOLUTION TO CANADA’S FRESHWATER PHOSPHORUS CRISIS

A WINNIPEG ENTREPRENEUR IS DEPLOYING A MOBILE BARGE-BASED REMEDIATION PLATFORM TO PULL PHOSPHORUS FROM EUTROPHIC LAKES — AND TURN POLLUTION INTO A PREMIUM AGRICULTURAL PRODUCT. Excess phosphorus in freshwater lakes is one of the most persistent and costly environmental challenges facing municipalities and water managers across Canada and around the...

INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition

iUnit

Building Sustainable, Attainable Communities

Changing the way we live – and build our homes and lives – is no mean feat. That is precisely what iUnit sets out to do. It is a visionary real estate development/tech start-up spearheading a revolution in sustainable housing. Founded by Brice Leconte, iUnit is a trailblazer in merging...

INNOVATION Quebec

Founded in 2017, the Maison de l’innovation sociale (MIS) is an NFP whose mission is to eliminate the obstacles between an idea with a positive social and environmental impact and its implementation. At MIS, we are interested in the precursor stage of a social innovation. We help very early-stage projects...

INNOVATE™ Atlantic Canada

David Sobey Retailing Centre

Shaping the Future of Retail

“In the past decade, retailers have been forced to innovate, and in some cases transform themselves in response to several external factors. Changing consumer behaviour and employee expectations, the advent of AI, and the need to meet sustainability targets are just some of the factors driving big changes in the...

INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports

THE VIRTX INC

THE WORLD’S FIRST BROADCASTING ENABLER / AGGREGATOR PLATFORM IN VIRTUAL REALITY WITH SOCIAL INTERACTION

As the forerunners of “Futuretainment,” The VirtX is the first of its kind broadcasting & streaming aggregating service in Virtual Reality in the form of shared entertainment (live sports/events/movies/gaming) to the B2C audiences. The VirtX is a platform which enables networks to broadcast their live content in Virtual Reality to...

INNOVATE® Georgia

ACKERMAN & CO

A BOLD APPROACH TO DEVELOPMENT

Just two miles southwest of Downtown Atlanta is a sprawling collection of buildings formerly known as “Warehouse Row.” In the 1950s and 1960s, the warehouse buildings were developed to serve as a distribution hub for area grocery stores. Today, the buildings have been transformed into something much different. In the...

INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition

The University of Maryland Institute for Health Computing - MPOWERING THE STATE

Institute for Health Computing Primed to Partner with Life Science Companies.

Institute for Health Computing Primed to Partner with Life Science Companies. The University of Maryland Institute for Health Computing (IHC) is a new academic health research institute in North Bethesda, Maryland, that serves as a hub for health computing innovation and collaboration in Montgomery County. Founded in November 2022, the...

INNOVATE™ Adelaide

PERSONIFY CARE

INNOVATIVE HEALTH TECH PLATFORM ENABLES PATIENTS TO ACCESS THE BEST POSSIBLE CARE

Personify Care is a flexible and scalable health tech platform that accelerates health services to transform their patient experience whilst simultaneously reducing the administrative and cognitive burden on our frontline staff. Led by South Australian CEO Ken Saman, Personify Care’s approach is to support healthcare teams to rapidly adapt and...

INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2

TURTLE

Envisioning the Future Through a Century of Excellence

Founded in 1923, Turtle stands tall as a beacon of enduring success in the US market, marking its presence as one of the largest independent electrical and industrial distribution companies. Having amassed a century of experience, Turtle doesn’t just rest on its past laurels. Instead, it envisions a future illuminated...

INNOVATE™ Alberta

EAVOR

THE FIRST TRULY SCALABLE FORM OF CLEAN BASELOAD POWER

The energy industry is at a moment of reckoning, as the demand globally continues to increase....

INNOVATE® Nashville

S3 RECYCLING

S3 RECYCLING-HASSLE-FREE E-WASTE SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESSES

HASSLE-FREE E-WASTE SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESSES

S3 Recycling Solutions is the right choice for businesses looking for an easy and hassle-free way to responsibly and safely manage excess electronics. Headquartered in Springfield, Tenn., S3 is an award-winning, R2-certified technology recycling firm that provides tailored e-waste solutions to businesses across the nation and in Canada. Since 2007,...

INNOVATE™ Adelaide

FIREFLY BIOTECH

RESEARCH TOOLS THAT ARE OUT OF THIS WORLD

Firefly Biotech is an Adelaide start-up that targets a growing niche between medical research and engineering. They specialise in space medicine and research tools. They also offer advice, expertise and inspiration to the next generation of aspiring space scientists. Founded by Dr Giles Kirby, a thought leader in space medicine...

INNOVATION Quebec

Entrepreneuriat ULaval (EUL)

Is the incubator for innovative andresponsible businesses at Université Laval, in Québec

EUL provides coaching and support to entrepreneurs from the university community who dream big, and whose businesses show high potential in terms of growth and societal impact, to propel them toward success. Louis-Philippe Pleau, CEO & Co-Founder of LumIR Lasers EUL supports start-ups in the field of high technology applied...

INNOVATE® Milwaukee

HSA Bank

HSA BANK IS BUILDING A NEW ERA OF TECHNOLOGY-FOCUSED EXPERIENCES IN FINANCE

HSA BANK IS BUILDING A NEW ERA OF TECHNOLOGY-FOCUSED EXPERIENCES IN FINANCE Technology-driven experience and innovation have the potential to transform employee benefits from a traditional offering into a strategic differentiator for organizations. The benefits sector, traditionally not seen as a tech ‘powerhouse’, is undergoing rapid change as organizations leverage...

INNOVATE™ South Africa

CREATING KLEIN JAN

CREATING KLEIN JAN - CREATIVITY IN THE KALAHARI

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™ Atlantic Canada

VIDCRUITER

FROM A TEAM OF TWO TO 100+ – VIDCRUITER DRIVES THE FUTURE OF DIGITAL RECRUITMENT

When Sean Fahey, CEO of VidCruiter, was faced with a challenge of hiring 200 people in a time crunch, he learned how frustrating and inefficient it was to find and hire candidates the traditional way. He asked, “What if there’s a way to improve and scale the interviewing process for...

INNOVATE™ Curitiba

EBANX

LEADING PAYMENTS PARTNER FOR GLOBAL COMPANIES IN RISING MARKETS

EBANX is a global technology company that offers payment solutions to connect clients from rising markets and global companies, promoting access to their products and services. Through technology and a proprietary platform, EBANX enables global companies to offer local payment methods from countries in the fastest-growing regions: Latin America, Africa...

INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition

Union Kitchen

HOW A FOOD BUSINESS ACCELERATOR IN WASHINGTON,DC IS PAVING THE WAY FOR THE NEXT BIG CPG BRANDS

Cullen Gilchrist founded Union Kitchen in 2012 to partner with food businesses of all sizes to grow and scale their success. Cullen got his start in the food industry with his sister and friends when they opened the Blind Dog Cafe. Faced with the challenge of increased demand and not...

INNOVATE™ Estonia

AUVE TECH

DRIVING ESTONIA’S AUTONOMOUS FUTURE, ONE SHORT ROUTE AT A TIME

Cities are stitched together by infrastructure – roads, rails, sidewalks, and transit routes. Yet for many, that final stretch between a transit stop and the destination is the hardest to bridge. Often, commuters surrender to convenience, hailing a car instead and adding congestion and emissions to already-strained streets. Estonia’s Auve...

INNOVATE® South Carolina

South Coast Cyber Center

Empowering Individuals, the Business Community, and Government with the Skills and Knowledge to Navigate the Increasingly Complex World of Cybersecurity.

The South Coast Cyber Center, a nonprofit located in Beaufort, South Carolina, is an integral player in the region’s technology ecosystem, offering a collaborative approach to education, training, and economic development. The work of the Cyber Center focuses on empowering individuals, the business community, and government with the skills and...

Ecosystems