Stories of Innovation

INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2

PROVIDENT BANK

Wants to Create Advocates for Life by Creating an Innovative, First-Class Employee and Customer Experience

Provident Bank, the oldest and second largest financial institution headquartered in NJ, was established in 1839 in a one-room office in Jersey City, New Jersey. Since its inception, it has continually reaffirmed its commitment to the customers and communities it serves, as well as its employees across New Jersey, New...

INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition

BROCCOLI CITY

Mission for a Healthier Tomorrow

Broccoli City is spearheading a transformative movement in the DMV region and nationally. Founded on the principles of impact, innovation, and empowerment, Broccoli City stands as a beacon of change, redefining what it means to be cool and conscious in today’s urban communities. With this organization, founders Brand McEachern and...

INNOVATE® Nashville

Nashville State Community College

From Classroom to Career: Nashville State Powers Progress Through Education and Partnerships

A Good Fit. A Great Future. That’s how Nashville State Community College defines itself—serving diverse students from Nashville’s urban core to rural counties, each bringing unique backgrounds and experiences. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to how Nashville State serves its students and communities. In fact, with Vision 2030 – its...

INNOVATE™ Toronto

THE CCRM STORY

THE CCRM STORY: 10 YEARS IN THE MAKING

10 YEARS IN THE MAKING

“Regenerative medicine is the future, and not only is it the future, it’s a branch of medicine that Canada and the province of Ontario are actually quite good at.” – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau When it launched onto the scene in 2011, there was nothing else like it. Even today, ten years...

INNOVATE® Georgia

PLAYON

ONWARD AND UPWARD: INNOVATION FOR SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES WITH PLAYON

PlayOn was created to champion the spirit of play. The PlayOn team is comprised of GoFan, the NFHS Network, and rSchoolToday – three brands united by a shared passion for school athletics and activities. PlayOn propels schools onward with enduring innovation and service to save time and focus on what...

INNOVATE™ Curitiba

CINI

EMOTIONS, FEELINGS, COLORS, AND FLAVORS!

Approaching its 120th anniversary in 2024, Cini is led by the fourth generation of the same family. How have they achieved so much success? Cini is a company that has been operating in the beverage market since 1904, spanning over a century in the beverage industry. Initially, when the Italian...

INNOVATE™ Botswana Vol.1

NUBIAN SEED (PTY) LTD

NUBIAN SEED (PTY) LTD BEAUTY ROOTED IN NATURE AND INDIGENOUSLY INSPIRED BY AFRICA

BEAUTY ROOTED IN NATURE AND INDIGENOUSLY INSPIRED BY AFRICA

Established in 2016, Nubian Seed (PTY) Ltd is a green beauty manufacturer of natural and organic personal care products, made using raw plant based ingredients which are indigenous to the African continent. The Nubian Seed product range is a reflection of Africa’s bio diversity, as well as global growing interest...

INNOVATION Quebec

ZONE AGTECH

STIMULER L’ÉMERGENCE ET PROPULSER LESTECHNOLOGIES AGRICOLES INNOVANTES DU QUÉBEC

Depuis 2020, le Québec fait figure de pionnier dans le domaine des technologies agricoles innovantes et des bioproduits végétaux grâce au développement de la Zone Agtech, un écosystème d’innovation localisé situé près de la Ville de Montréal dans la MRC de L’Assomption. Sa mission ? Intensifier le développement de technologies...

INNOVATE™ Alberta

INVEST ALBERTA

MAKING AMBITIONS A REALITY – ALBERTA’S INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO INVESTMENT ATTRACTION

ALBERTA IS THE HEADQUARTERS FOR BOLD THINKERS AND CREATIVE INNOVATORS As one of North America’s premier investment attraction organizations, Invest Alberta expedites business operations, fosters collaboration, and goes the extra mile to ensure long-term success for businesses. With a robust entrepreneurial culture and team members strategically positioned worldwide, Invest Alberta...

INNOVATE™ Flanders

TRANSPORT EN LOGISTIEK VLAANDEREN

UNLOCKING THE FULL POTENTIAL OF THE ROAD TRANSPORT AND LOGISTICS SECTOR

Every year, the number of transport and logistics companies in Belgium keeps growing. All projections show that the transportation of goods by the road will also continue to grow in the following 20 years. The sector thus plays a vital role in the Belgian economy. However, with rising costs, stricter...

INNOVATE® Blockchain

THE PARTY SCIENTIST

Upholding a culture of human connection and freedom of expression

“The Promise of Crypto is more freedom of expression and playful connection”, says The Party Scientist. His mission is to uphold the ethos of blockchain: community; which he believes is the elixir of life. If you attend enough crypto conferences, you’ll probably meet the guy wearing a labcoat hauling around...

Global Innovation Spotlight

Phatsimo Raphutshi

FOUNDER & CEO, JAYROHI ENTERPRISE SYSTEMS AFRICAN SAP USER GROUP (BOTSWANA CHAPTER)

INNOVATE® Kansas City

ICORIUM

Revolutionizing Refrigerant Reclamation for a Cooler Planet

The 50-Billion Pound Gorilla in the Room Hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants (HFCs) are the backbone of society’s most critical industries and infrastructure. Not just in air conditioners and fridges, refrigerants make food production and preservation, cloud computing, pharmaceuticals, silicon chip manufacturing, medical and scientific research, all possible at unprecedented efficiency and scale....

INNOVATE™ Flanders

RIVER CLEANUP

From a 10-minute cleanup to 1000 plastic-free rivers

From a 10-minute cleanup to 1000 plastic-free rivers River Cleanup is a Belgium-based organization with one clear goal: making rivers plastic-free. The non-profit started with manual cleanup actions and evolved into a pioneer in the field of river protection, with mentions in Forbes, De Tijd, The Economist and many more....

INNOVATE™ Toronto

PARKDALE CENTRE FOR INNOVATION

PARKDALE CENTRE FOR INNOVATION- IS ONE OF THE FIRST INCUBATORS IN TORONTO TO SUPPORT STARTUPS AT THE EARLY-STAGE OF THEIR VENTURES THROUGH THE EARLYSTAGE FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP

IS ONE OF THE FIRST INCUBATORS IN TORONTO TO SUPPORT STARTUPS AT THE EARLY-STAGE OF THEIR VENTURES THROUGH THE EARLYSTAGE FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP, AND THE WOMEN FOUNDERS PROGRAM

Established in 2017, Parkdale Centre is an incubator & accelerator that supports entrepreneurs to start and grow their business, with a focus on equity, accessibility, and inclusion for underrepresented people, namely women, Black, Indigenous, people of colour, and newcomers to Canada. As an organization, Parkdale Centre works to support entrepreneurs...

INNOVATE® Detroit

InvestNext

Fostering Growth and Potential

InvestNext is on a mission to transform how investment firms raise and manage real estate investment capital. Founded in 2016 by Michael Gisi, Kevin Heras, and Matthew Attou, this Detroit startup was conceived to revolutionize how the industry operates. What they’ve created democratizes real estate investing and empowers investors to...

INNOVATE® Nashville

FIRSTBANK

FIRSTBANK-PAVING THE WAY FOR A NEW WAVE

PAVING THE WAY FOR A NEW WAVE

It’s not often you hear about companies that thrive for over a century, but FirstBank, from its humble start in rural West Tennessee in 1906 continues to evolve and conquer 117 years later. From its original mission of serving a small-town farming community, FirstBank, headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee with a...

INNOVATE™ Stockholm

SSE BUSINESS LAB

CREATING THE CONDITIONS FOR UNICORNS

SSE Business Lab is the startup incubator of the Stockholm School of Economics (SSE), one of Europe’s top business schools. Since its founding in 2001, the incubator has supported more than 300 startups, including some of Sweden’s most recognized success stories such as Klarna, Voi, Instabee (formerly Budbee), and Legora....

United Nations Lesotho

(WHO)

THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION

Background The World Health Organisation (WHO) was established on April 7, 1948, and formally began its work on September 1, 1948. It incorporated the assets, personnel, and duties of the League of Nations’ Health Organization and the Paris-based Office International d’Hygiène Publique, including the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). WHO...

INNOVATE® Nashville

RJ Young

How RJ Young and Velocity1 Are Redefining Technology Solutions Across the Southeast

For more than 70 years, RJ Young has stood at the forefront of helping businesses adapt to change. What began in 1955 as a local provider of office equipment in Nashville has grown into one of the Southeast’s most respected and comprehensive business technology partners. Over the decades, RJ Young...

INNOVATE® Maryland

PAIGEKARES

BUILDING THE VILLAGE CHILDCARE NEVER HAD

Leaving a child with someone else asks for an extraordinary amount of trust. Families often spend far longer deciding who than when, searching for the kind of confidence that rarely comes from scrolling through profiles alone. PaigeKares grew from that reality, bringing together personal referrals, thoughtful vetting, and technology that...

INNOVATE™ Estonia

FIBENOL

DEFOSSILIZING THE FUTURE OF MATERIALS AND CHEMICALS

In Estonia, where wood has shaped livelihoods for centuries, one company is reimagining its potential for the next industrial era. Fibenol is transforming undervalued hardwood and plywood industry residues into high-purity biomaterials that offer sustainable alternatives to fossil-based inputs. Its mission is both simple and bold: To help industries defossilize...

INNOVATE™ Toronto

AIRMATRIX

AIRMATRIX- BUILDS THE WORLD'S MOST PRECISE DRONE ROAD SYSTEMS

BUILDS THE WORLD'S MOST PRECISE DRONE ROAD SYSTEMS

Co-founded by University of Toronto graduates, Bashir Khan, Ayaan Haider and Shayaan Haider in 2018, AirMatrix builds the world’s most precise drone road systems. AirMatrix is innovating at the bleeding edge and is affiliated with Communitech, MaRS, IRAP and DMZ. AirMatrix is a member of Transport Canada’s action team on...

Global Innovation Spotlight

3 Proven Ways to Boost Brand Visibility Fast

Businessman holding blank white business card.

3 Proven Ways to Boost Brand Visibility Fast To boost brand visibility fast, leverage custom apparel for instant recognition, harness storytelling to forge emotional connections, and expand reach through strategic partnerships. These innovative branding strategies bypass traditional advertising noise by creating authentic touchpoints that build trust.  By implementing these tactics,...

INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2

PROVIDENT BANK

Wants to Create Advocates for Life by Creating an Innovative, First-Class Employee and Customer Experience

Provident Bank, the oldest and second largest financial institution headquartered in NJ, was established in 1839 in a one-room office in Jersey City, New Jersey. Since its inception, it has continually reaffirmed its commitment to the customers and communities it serves, as well as its employees across New Jersey, New...

INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition

BROCCOLI CITY

Mission for a Healthier Tomorrow

Broccoli City is spearheading a transformative movement in the DMV region and nationally. Founded on the principles of impact, innovation, and empowerment, Broccoli City stands as a beacon of change, redefining what it means to be cool and conscious in today’s urban communities. With this organization, founders Brand McEachern and...

INNOVATE® Nashville

Nashville State Community College

From Classroom to Career: Nashville State Powers Progress Through Education and Partnerships

A Good Fit. A Great Future. That’s how Nashville State Community College defines itself—serving diverse students from Nashville’s urban core to rural counties, each bringing unique backgrounds and experiences. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to how Nashville State serves its students and communities. In fact, with Vision 2030 – its...

INNOVATE™ Toronto

THE CCRM STORY

THE CCRM STORY: 10 YEARS IN THE MAKING

10 YEARS IN THE MAKING

“Regenerative medicine is the future, and not only is it the future, it’s a branch of medicine that Canada and the province of Ontario are actually quite good at.” – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau When it launched onto the scene in 2011, there was nothing else like it. Even today, ten years...

INNOVATE® Georgia

PLAYON

ONWARD AND UPWARD: INNOVATION FOR SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES WITH PLAYON

PlayOn was created to champion the spirit of play. The PlayOn team is comprised of GoFan, the NFHS Network, and rSchoolToday – three brands united by a shared passion for school athletics and activities. PlayOn propels schools onward with enduring innovation and service to save time and focus on what...

INNOVATE™ Curitiba

CINI

EMOTIONS, FEELINGS, COLORS, AND FLAVORS!

Approaching its 120th anniversary in 2024, Cini is led by the fourth generation of the same family. How have they achieved so much success? Cini is a company that has been operating in the beverage market since 1904, spanning over a century in the beverage industry. Initially, when the Italian...

INNOVATE™ Botswana Vol.1

NUBIAN SEED (PTY) LTD

NUBIAN SEED (PTY) LTD BEAUTY ROOTED IN NATURE AND INDIGENOUSLY INSPIRED BY AFRICA

BEAUTY ROOTED IN NATURE AND INDIGENOUSLY INSPIRED BY AFRICA

Established in 2016, Nubian Seed (PTY) Ltd is a green beauty manufacturer of natural and organic personal care products, made using raw plant based ingredients which are indigenous to the African continent. The Nubian Seed product range is a reflection of Africa’s bio diversity, as well as global growing interest...

INNOVATION Quebec

ZONE AGTECH

STIMULER L’ÉMERGENCE ET PROPULSER LESTECHNOLOGIES AGRICOLES INNOVANTES DU QUÉBEC

Depuis 2020, le Québec fait figure de pionnier dans le domaine des technologies agricoles innovantes et des bioproduits végétaux grâce au développement de la Zone Agtech, un écosystème d’innovation localisé situé près de la Ville de Montréal dans la MRC de L’Assomption. Sa mission ? Intensifier le développement de technologies...

INNOVATE™ Alberta

INVEST ALBERTA

MAKING AMBITIONS A REALITY – ALBERTA’S INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO INVESTMENT ATTRACTION

ALBERTA IS THE HEADQUARTERS FOR BOLD THINKERS AND CREATIVE INNOVATORS As one of North America’s premier investment attraction organizations, Invest Alberta expedites business operations, fosters collaboration, and goes the extra mile to ensure long-term success for businesses. With a robust entrepreneurial culture and team members strategically positioned worldwide, Invest Alberta...

INNOVATE™ Flanders

TRANSPORT EN LOGISTIEK VLAANDEREN

UNLOCKING THE FULL POTENTIAL OF THE ROAD TRANSPORT AND LOGISTICS SECTOR

Every year, the number of transport and logistics companies in Belgium keeps growing. All projections show that the transportation of goods by the road will also continue to grow in the following 20 years. The sector thus plays a vital role in the Belgian economy. However, with rising costs, stricter...

INNOVATE® Blockchain

THE PARTY SCIENTIST

Upholding a culture of human connection and freedom of expression

“The Promise of Crypto is more freedom of expression and playful connection”, says The Party Scientist. His mission is to uphold the ethos of blockchain: community; which he believes is the elixir of life. If you attend enough crypto conferences, you’ll probably meet the guy wearing a labcoat hauling around...

Global Innovation Spotlight

Phatsimo Raphutshi

FOUNDER & CEO, JAYROHI ENTERPRISE SYSTEMS AFRICAN SAP USER GROUP (BOTSWANA CHAPTER)

INNOVATE® Kansas City

ICORIUM

Revolutionizing Refrigerant Reclamation for a Cooler Planet

The 50-Billion Pound Gorilla in the Room Hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants (HFCs) are the backbone of society’s most critical industries and infrastructure. Not just in air conditioners and fridges, refrigerants make food production and preservation, cloud computing, pharmaceuticals, silicon chip manufacturing, medical and scientific research, all possible at unprecedented efficiency and scale....

INNOVATE™ Flanders

RIVER CLEANUP

From a 10-minute cleanup to 1000 plastic-free rivers

From a 10-minute cleanup to 1000 plastic-free rivers River Cleanup is a Belgium-based organization with one clear goal: making rivers plastic-free. The non-profit started with manual cleanup actions and evolved into a pioneer in the field of river protection, with mentions in Forbes, De Tijd, The Economist and many more....

INNOVATE™ Toronto

PARKDALE CENTRE FOR INNOVATION

PARKDALE CENTRE FOR INNOVATION- IS ONE OF THE FIRST INCUBATORS IN TORONTO TO SUPPORT STARTUPS AT THE EARLY-STAGE OF THEIR VENTURES THROUGH THE EARLYSTAGE FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP

IS ONE OF THE FIRST INCUBATORS IN TORONTO TO SUPPORT STARTUPS AT THE EARLY-STAGE OF THEIR VENTURES THROUGH THE EARLYSTAGE FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP, AND THE WOMEN FOUNDERS PROGRAM

Established in 2017, Parkdale Centre is an incubator & accelerator that supports entrepreneurs to start and grow their business, with a focus on equity, accessibility, and inclusion for underrepresented people, namely women, Black, Indigenous, people of colour, and newcomers to Canada. As an organization, Parkdale Centre works to support entrepreneurs...

INNOVATE® Detroit

InvestNext

Fostering Growth and Potential

InvestNext is on a mission to transform how investment firms raise and manage real estate investment capital. Founded in 2016 by Michael Gisi, Kevin Heras, and Matthew Attou, this Detroit startup was conceived to revolutionize how the industry operates. What they’ve created democratizes real estate investing and empowers investors to...

INNOVATE® Nashville

FIRSTBANK

FIRSTBANK-PAVING THE WAY FOR A NEW WAVE

PAVING THE WAY FOR A NEW WAVE

It’s not often you hear about companies that thrive for over a century, but FirstBank, from its humble start in rural West Tennessee in 1906 continues to evolve and conquer 117 years later. From its original mission of serving a small-town farming community, FirstBank, headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee with a...

INNOVATE™ Stockholm

SSE BUSINESS LAB

CREATING THE CONDITIONS FOR UNICORNS

SSE Business Lab is the startup incubator of the Stockholm School of Economics (SSE), one of Europe’s top business schools. Since its founding in 2001, the incubator has supported more than 300 startups, including some of Sweden’s most recognized success stories such as Klarna, Voi, Instabee (formerly Budbee), and Legora....

United Nations Lesotho

(WHO)

THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION

Background The World Health Organisation (WHO) was established on April 7, 1948, and formally began its work on September 1, 1948. It incorporated the assets, personnel, and duties of the League of Nations’ Health Organization and the Paris-based Office International d’Hygiène Publique, including the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). WHO...

INNOVATE® Nashville

RJ Young

How RJ Young and Velocity1 Are Redefining Technology Solutions Across the Southeast

For more than 70 years, RJ Young has stood at the forefront of helping businesses adapt to change. What began in 1955 as a local provider of office equipment in Nashville has grown into one of the Southeast’s most respected and comprehensive business technology partners. Over the decades, RJ Young...

INNOVATE® Maryland

PAIGEKARES

BUILDING THE VILLAGE CHILDCARE NEVER HAD

Leaving a child with someone else asks for an extraordinary amount of trust. Families often spend far longer deciding who than when, searching for the kind of confidence that rarely comes from scrolling through profiles alone. PaigeKares grew from that reality, bringing together personal referrals, thoughtful vetting, and technology that...

INNOVATE™ Estonia

FIBENOL

DEFOSSILIZING THE FUTURE OF MATERIALS AND CHEMICALS

In Estonia, where wood has shaped livelihoods for centuries, one company is reimagining its potential for the next industrial era. Fibenol is transforming undervalued hardwood and plywood industry residues into high-purity biomaterials that offer sustainable alternatives to fossil-based inputs. Its mission is both simple and bold: To help industries defossilize...

INNOVATE™ Toronto

AIRMATRIX

AIRMATRIX- BUILDS THE WORLD'S MOST PRECISE DRONE ROAD SYSTEMS

BUILDS THE WORLD'S MOST PRECISE DRONE ROAD SYSTEMS

Co-founded by University of Toronto graduates, Bashir Khan, Ayaan Haider and Shayaan Haider in 2018, AirMatrix builds the world’s most precise drone road systems. AirMatrix is innovating at the bleeding edge and is affiliated with Communitech, MaRS, IRAP and DMZ. AirMatrix is a member of Transport Canada’s action team on...

Global Innovation Spotlight

3 Proven Ways to Boost Brand Visibility Fast

Businessman holding blank white business card.

3 Proven Ways to Boost Brand Visibility Fast To boost brand visibility fast, leverage custom apparel for instant recognition, harness storytelling to forge emotional connections, and expand reach through strategic partnerships. These innovative branding strategies bypass traditional advertising noise by creating authentic touchpoints that build trust.  By implementing these tactics,...

Ecosystems