Stories of Innovation
INNOVATE™ Atlantic Canada
LIFE SCIENCES NOVA SCOTIA
BUILDING A THRIVING COMMUNITY
Life Sciences Nova Scotia (LSNS) is more than just an organization; it is the cornerstone of Nova Scotia’s life sciences community, fostering growth, innovation, and collaboration across the province and Atlantic Canada. At its core, LSNS is driven by the belief that transformative ideas in biotechnology, healthcare, and pharmaceuticals can...
INNOVATION Quebec
Polymers Alliance Québec
ONE INDUSTRY, THREE SECTORS
Plastics MaterialsPlastic materials are polymers that can be shaped (molded), by various processes, using mechanical stress combined with the effect of heat which allows them to soften temporarily. Composite MaterialsComposite materials are polymers that are formed by the polymerization of resins usually mixed with reinforcing fillers such as fiberglass. Molds...
INNOVATE™ Curitiba
TECPAR
IS A REFERENCE IN THE HEALTH AREA AND IN SUPPORTING INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGICAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
The Paraná Institute of Technology (TECPAR), a public company of the State Government founded in 1940, is a science and technology institute that, with its technical staff, supports innovation and technological, economic and social development in Paraná and Brazil. TECPAR is present with two units in the city of Curitiba....
INNOVATION Quebec
CCEG
CCTT IN GERONTOLOGY
The CCEG, Canada’s one and only college centre on aging: a leader, a partner and an ambassador. The Centre collégial d’expertise en gérontologie (CCEG) examines the multiple aspects of population aging and is committed to advancing the understanding of seniors’ challenges, demystifying them and bringing them to the public. Our...
INNOVATE® Maryland
Ekaterina Vert-Wong (Nostopharma)
Resourceful and Scrappy Just Might Win the Race for a Biobased Economy
Across roles at the intersection of innovation, sustainability, and human impact, Ekateirna Vert-Wong has demonstrated a belief that progress is most meaningful when it benefits people while safeguarding the future. Both as an executive leading biomedical teams and an entrepreneur building climate-resilient medicine in Maryland, her path has been guided...
INNOVATE® Austin Volume 2
CASORO GROUP
Advancing Diversity and Closing the Generational Wealth Gap
THE WORLD STOOD STILLThe global pandemic in 2020 brought the world to a halt. Lives were lost. Businesses were forced to pivot quickly and those who couldn’t suffered. Jobs disappeared. The world stood still in uncertainty and fear; and then the death of George Floyd occurred. That became the catalyst...
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® 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® Austin Volume 2
PLAYMAKER RECRUITING
Is here to level the playing field for student athletes and coaches, providing more access to opportunities and resources
Playmaker Recruiting was born from the broken system that is college athlete recruiting, with the mission to help students and coaches navigate the complicated recruiting process, and provide greater access to opportunities at the next level. Having seen friends and family go through the college recruiting process, it was apparent...
INNOVATE™ Toronto
BLUEROCK THERAPEUTICS
DARES TO ASK, “WHAT IF?"
At BlueRock, our mission is to create authentic cellular medicines to reverse devastating diseases, with the vision of improving the human condition. Built on the research of some of the world’s foremost experts in induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) biology, BlueRock has revolutionized and scaled methods for creating authentic...
INNOVATE® South Florida
CORAL GABLES - THE CITY BEAUTIFUL
RECOGNIZED NATIONWIDE AS A LEADING SMART CITY
Coral Gables was founded on innovation, being one of the very first planned communities in the United States. Today, we’re known internationally as a Smart City, leveraging information and communication technologies and intelligent connected infrastructure to benefit our residents, employees, businesses, and visitors, as well as make our city more...
INNOVATE® Detroit
Menace Media
A Movement of Creativity, Community, and Change
Menace Media was born in the heart of Detroit, a city built on resilience, creativity, and cultural revolution. More than just a media company, Menace Media is a movement—a platform designed to uplift, empower, and unite creatives, entrepreneurs, and visionaries. What started as a passion project among friends has grown...
INNOVATE® South Carolina
JTEKT North America
Looking for Trouble, Delivering Solutions
At JTEKT North America, innovation isn’t just a buzzword; it’s an invitation. An invitation to businesses facing their toughest challenges. When it comes to solving the problems that seem unsolvable, JTEKT isn’t shy about one thing: we’re actively “looking for trouble.” Not the kind of trouble that comes with poor...
INNOVATION Quebec
Bio.Enviro.In
Innover pour un système bioalimentaire résilient et adaptatif
Créé en 2018, le centre d’innovation bioalimentaire et environnemental Bio.Enviro.In, affilié au Cégep de Lanaudière à Joliette, s’est bâti une vaste expertise bioalimentaire, qui s’étend du terroir à l’assiette du consommateur, en passant par la transformation des aliments. Soucieux de s’intégrer dans le contexte socioéconomique de la région de Lanaudière,...
INNOVATE® Puerto Rico
FORWARD LEARNING
EDUCATION AND TECHNOLOGY FOR A BETTER PUERTO RICO
ABOUT FORWARD LEARNINGForward Learning was founded in 1993 with the vision of promoting the effective use of technology for the development of individuals, companies, and society. Over the years they have worked with enthusiastic professionals to promote innovation through technology, creativity, personal and professional development. Their services include in-person and...
INNOVATE® Blockchain
NFT STUDIOS-CHIFIBOTS
CREATING A UNIVERSE FOR ENDLESS FUN
NFT Studios’ primary goal is to build a chain of: games, media, and real life events – based on the colorful characters and universes produced through their debut Play To Earn game “ChiFiBots.” And to also make 100 million players earn 100K USD a year playing our games. The...
INNOVATE™ Estonia
POWERUP ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES
BEYOND THE HYPE: POWERUP ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES MAKES HYDROGEN A COMMERCIAL REALITY
While the concept of a “hydrogen economy” has been a topic of political discourse and future-gazing for years, one Tallinn-based company is demonstrating that for many applications, the future is already here. PowerUP Energy Technologies, founded by scientist and entrepreneur Ivar Kruusenberg, is moving beyond theoretical promise and deploying certified...
INNOVATE® Kansas City
KANSAS CITY WOMEN IN TECH
EMPOWERING WOMEN IN TECH: THE LEGACY OF KANSAS CITY WOMEN IN TECH
In 2013, against the backdrop of a male-dominated tech landscape, Jennifer Wadalla, a passionate advocate for gender equality, founded Kansas City Women in Tech (KCWiT). Her vision was to create a supportive ecosystem that would empower women to thrive in the technology industry. Under Jennifer’s visionary leadership, KCWiT quickly became...
INNOVATE® Georgia
JOULEA
REDEFINING ENERGY EFFICIENCY - MAXIMIZING PROFITABILITY WHILE MINIMIZING CARBON FOOTPRINT.
The building sector, which accounts for 40% of all U.S. energy use and associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, wastes $150 billion annually due to inefficient design, operation, and maintenance of buildings. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, buildings are responsible for 76% of the nation’s electricity consumption. Moreover, the...
INNOVATE™ Montréal
AIR CANADA
AT THE FOREFRONT OF THIS BURGEONING TECHNOLOGY
Air Canada has made it clear that the development and implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) will play a key part of the airline’s future, and it has already established several initiatives within various branches that will have long-term benefits. In the current climate brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the...
INNOVATE® Miami
Crowd Capital
We make investors happy by keeping families in their homes
Crowd Capital is a game changing social impact fintech operating at the intersection of crowd financing, investment platforms, and real estate. We help defaulting borrowers secure their homes while delivering above market average financial returns to our customers in a frictionless and transparent way. By leveraging machine learning and mobile...
INNOVATE® Detroit
Driven
Ending legal debt traps with smart payments
In the U.S., over 11 million people havehad their driver’s licenses suspendeddue to unpaid fines. This isn’t just aninconvenience – it’s a direct hit to financialstability. Losing the ability to drive meanslosing access to jobs, education, andessential services. In cities like Detroit,where public transit is unreliable, asuspended license can mean...
INNOVATE™ Estonia
CLARICY
POWERING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION WITH DEEPTECH
Founded in 2022 by Johanna Stina Haar (MA) at the age of 24, Claricy is an Estonian DeepTech company that helps small and mid-sized enterprises navigate digital transformation. Johanna holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and a master’s degree in IT management, complemented by experience as both a financial specialist...
INNOVATE™ Antwerp Vol.2
DE SATELLIET OF DE MAANWANDELAARS IN BOECHOUT
WHERE DIVIDING UNITES
De Maanwandelaars are well known for offering housing solutions and meaningful daytime activities for adults with medium or severe mental disabilities. With five locations in the southern outskirts of Antwerp, they consciously opt for warm small scale and flexibility. This forms a favorable framework for offering people maximum participation in...
INNOVATE™ Atlantic Canada
LIFE SCIENCES NOVA SCOTIA
BUILDING A THRIVING COMMUNITY
Life Sciences Nova Scotia (LSNS) is more than just an organization; it is the cornerstone of Nova Scotia’s life sciences community, fostering growth, innovation, and collaboration across the province and Atlantic Canada. At its core, LSNS is driven by the belief that transformative ideas in biotechnology, healthcare, and pharmaceuticals can...
INNOVATION Quebec
Polymers Alliance Québec
ONE INDUSTRY, THREE SECTORS
Plastics MaterialsPlastic materials are polymers that can be shaped (molded), by various processes, using mechanical stress combined with the effect of heat which allows them to soften temporarily. Composite MaterialsComposite materials are polymers that are formed by the polymerization of resins usually mixed with reinforcing fillers such as fiberglass. Molds...
INNOVATE™ Curitiba
TECPAR
IS A REFERENCE IN THE HEALTH AREA AND IN SUPPORTING INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGICAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
The Paraná Institute of Technology (TECPAR), a public company of the State Government founded in 1940, is a science and technology institute that, with its technical staff, supports innovation and technological, economic and social development in Paraná and Brazil. TECPAR is present with two units in the city of Curitiba....
INNOVATION Quebec
CCEG
CCTT IN GERONTOLOGY
The CCEG, Canada’s one and only college centre on aging: a leader, a partner and an ambassador. The Centre collégial d’expertise en gérontologie (CCEG) examines the multiple aspects of population aging and is committed to advancing the understanding of seniors’ challenges, demystifying them and bringing them to the public. Our...
INNOVATE® Maryland
Ekaterina Vert-Wong (Nostopharma)
Resourceful and Scrappy Just Might Win the Race for a Biobased Economy
Across roles at the intersection of innovation, sustainability, and human impact, Ekateirna Vert-Wong has demonstrated a belief that progress is most meaningful when it benefits people while safeguarding the future. Both as an executive leading biomedical teams and an entrepreneur building climate-resilient medicine in Maryland, her path has been guided...
INNOVATE® Austin Volume 2
CASORO GROUP
Advancing Diversity and Closing the Generational Wealth Gap
THE WORLD STOOD STILLThe global pandemic in 2020 brought the world to a halt. Lives were lost. Businesses were forced to pivot quickly and those who couldn’t suffered. Jobs disappeared. The world stood still in uncertainty and fear; and then the death of George Floyd occurred. That became the catalyst...
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® 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® Austin Volume 2
PLAYMAKER RECRUITING
Is here to level the playing field for student athletes and coaches, providing more access to opportunities and resources
Playmaker Recruiting was born from the broken system that is college athlete recruiting, with the mission to help students and coaches navigate the complicated recruiting process, and provide greater access to opportunities at the next level. Having seen friends and family go through the college recruiting process, it was apparent...
INNOVATE™ Toronto
BLUEROCK THERAPEUTICS
DARES TO ASK, “WHAT IF?"
At BlueRock, our mission is to create authentic cellular medicines to reverse devastating diseases, with the vision of improving the human condition. Built on the research of some of the world’s foremost experts in induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) biology, BlueRock has revolutionized and scaled methods for creating authentic...
INNOVATE® South Florida
CORAL GABLES - THE CITY BEAUTIFUL
RECOGNIZED NATIONWIDE AS A LEADING SMART CITY
Coral Gables was founded on innovation, being one of the very first planned communities in the United States. Today, we’re known internationally as a Smart City, leveraging information and communication technologies and intelligent connected infrastructure to benefit our residents, employees, businesses, and visitors, as well as make our city more...
INNOVATE® Detroit
Menace Media
A Movement of Creativity, Community, and Change
Menace Media was born in the heart of Detroit, a city built on resilience, creativity, and cultural revolution. More than just a media company, Menace Media is a movement—a platform designed to uplift, empower, and unite creatives, entrepreneurs, and visionaries. What started as a passion project among friends has grown...
INNOVATE® South Carolina
JTEKT North America
Looking for Trouble, Delivering Solutions
At JTEKT North America, innovation isn’t just a buzzword; it’s an invitation. An invitation to businesses facing their toughest challenges. When it comes to solving the problems that seem unsolvable, JTEKT isn’t shy about one thing: we’re actively “looking for trouble.” Not the kind of trouble that comes with poor...
INNOVATION Quebec
Bio.Enviro.In
Innover pour un système bioalimentaire résilient et adaptatif
Créé en 2018, le centre d’innovation bioalimentaire et environnemental Bio.Enviro.In, affilié au Cégep de Lanaudière à Joliette, s’est bâti une vaste expertise bioalimentaire, qui s’étend du terroir à l’assiette du consommateur, en passant par la transformation des aliments. Soucieux de s’intégrer dans le contexte socioéconomique de la région de Lanaudière,...
INNOVATE® Puerto Rico
FORWARD LEARNING
EDUCATION AND TECHNOLOGY FOR A BETTER PUERTO RICO
ABOUT FORWARD LEARNINGForward Learning was founded in 1993 with the vision of promoting the effective use of technology for the development of individuals, companies, and society. Over the years they have worked with enthusiastic professionals to promote innovation through technology, creativity, personal and professional development. Their services include in-person and...
INNOVATE® Blockchain
NFT STUDIOS-CHIFIBOTS
CREATING A UNIVERSE FOR ENDLESS FUN
NFT Studios’ primary goal is to build a chain of: games, media, and real life events – based on the colorful characters and universes produced through their debut Play To Earn game “ChiFiBots.” And to also make 100 million players earn 100K USD a year playing our games. The...
INNOVATE™ Estonia
POWERUP ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES
BEYOND THE HYPE: POWERUP ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES MAKES HYDROGEN A COMMERCIAL REALITY
While the concept of a “hydrogen economy” has been a topic of political discourse and future-gazing for years, one Tallinn-based company is demonstrating that for many applications, the future is already here. PowerUP Energy Technologies, founded by scientist and entrepreneur Ivar Kruusenberg, is moving beyond theoretical promise and deploying certified...
INNOVATE® Kansas City
KANSAS CITY WOMEN IN TECH
EMPOWERING WOMEN IN TECH: THE LEGACY OF KANSAS CITY WOMEN IN TECH
In 2013, against the backdrop of a male-dominated tech landscape, Jennifer Wadalla, a passionate advocate for gender equality, founded Kansas City Women in Tech (KCWiT). Her vision was to create a supportive ecosystem that would empower women to thrive in the technology industry. Under Jennifer’s visionary leadership, KCWiT quickly became...
INNOVATE® Georgia
JOULEA
REDEFINING ENERGY EFFICIENCY - MAXIMIZING PROFITABILITY WHILE MINIMIZING CARBON FOOTPRINT.
The building sector, which accounts for 40% of all U.S. energy use and associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, wastes $150 billion annually due to inefficient design, operation, and maintenance of buildings. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, buildings are responsible for 76% of the nation’s electricity consumption. Moreover, the...
INNOVATE™ Montréal
AIR CANADA
AT THE FOREFRONT OF THIS BURGEONING TECHNOLOGY
Air Canada has made it clear that the development and implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) will play a key part of the airline’s future, and it has already established several initiatives within various branches that will have long-term benefits. In the current climate brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the...
INNOVATE® Miami
Crowd Capital
We make investors happy by keeping families in their homes
Crowd Capital is a game changing social impact fintech operating at the intersection of crowd financing, investment platforms, and real estate. We help defaulting borrowers secure their homes while delivering above market average financial returns to our customers in a frictionless and transparent way. By leveraging machine learning and mobile...
INNOVATE® Detroit
Driven
Ending legal debt traps with smart payments
In the U.S., over 11 million people havehad their driver’s licenses suspendeddue to unpaid fines. This isn’t just aninconvenience – it’s a direct hit to financialstability. Losing the ability to drive meanslosing access to jobs, education, andessential services. In cities like Detroit,where public transit is unreliable, asuspended license can mean...
INNOVATE™ Estonia
CLARICY
POWERING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION WITH DEEPTECH
Founded in 2022 by Johanna Stina Haar (MA) at the age of 24, Claricy is an Estonian DeepTech company that helps small and mid-sized enterprises navigate digital transformation. Johanna holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and a master’s degree in IT management, complemented by experience as both a financial specialist...
INNOVATE™ Antwerp Vol.2
DE SATELLIET OF DE MAANWANDELAARS IN BOECHOUT
WHERE DIVIDING UNITES
De Maanwandelaars are well known for offering housing solutions and meaningful daytime activities for adults with medium or severe mental disabilities. With five locations in the southern outskirts of Antwerp, they consciously opt for warm small scale and flexibility. This forms a favorable framework for offering people maximum participation in...