Stories of Innovation

INNOVATE™ Vancouver Vol.2

COHO COLLECTIVE KITCHENS

THE SECRET INGREDIENT FOR FOOD ENTREPRENEURS COHO IS REDEFINING THE SPACE-AS-A-SERVICE INDUSTRY AND THE FUTURE OF CULINARY ENTREPRENEURSHIP

The shared kitchen industry, also known as commissaries, is a rapidly growing sector that is changing how people think about food and culinary entrepreneurship. When starting or scaling a business, food and beverage based entrepreneurs face significant challenges and risks and require significant investment in space, equipment, and overhead costs....

INNOVATE™ Curitiba

VOLVO

ALWAYS LEADING EDGE IN INNOVATION FOR COMMERCIAL VEHICLES

Subsidiary of one of the world’s largest commercial vehicle OEMs, Volvo do Brasil has a track record marked by the development of innovative solutions in the passenger and cargo transportation sector in the country. Curitiba, the city chosen by OEM to be the location of its operations on the continent...

INNOVATE® Seattle

BRINC

TRANSFORMING PUBLIC SAFETY: THE FUTURE OF EMERGENCY RESPONSE

Blake Resnick, the founder and CEO of BRINC, started his engineering career at McLaren Automotive at 14. He later worked at Tesla Motors and DJI, the world’s largest drone company. Growing up in Las Vegas, the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting deeply impacted Blake, leading him to focus on public...

INNOVATE® Chicago Vol.1

SAFE STAYS BY RELOSHARE

SAFE STAYS BY RELOSHARE: Changing the Game for Emergency Housing by Providing Anonymous Hotel Bookings for Social Service Agencies

Changing the Game for Emergency Housing by Providing Anonymous Hotel Bookings for Social Service Agencies

According to the National Network to End Domestic Violence’s 2021 DV Counts Report, agencies were unable to provide emergency shelter to 1,982 adults and 1,184 children nationwide in just one day. Annualized, that’s 723,430 adults and 432,160 children who are left without access to emergency domestic violence shelters each year....

INNOVATION Quebec

IVÉO

FOR SUSTAINABLE AND SMARTER CITIES

IVÉO is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to accelerate the deployment of innovations in the municipal sector. Its interventions relate primarily to the experimentation and set up of pilot projects responding to the social, environmental and economic issues facing cities. By acting as an innovation broker between municipal authorities...

INNOVATE® Milwaukee

SUMMERFEST TECH

UNVEILING INNOVATION, CONNECTING COMMUNITIES

Technology’s power to drive collaboration is transformative. Summerfest Tech was created in 2018 to showcase the impactful influence of technology in Milwaukee and the Midwest, and provide a platform to network, educate, and celebrate the evolution of technology. Today, Summerfest Tech continues to leverage the world-class music festival Summerfest, while...

INNOVATE™ Curitiba

ICITIES

SMART PEOPLE CREATE SMART CITIES

It was with this mindset that iCities emerged 12 years ago in the city of Curitiba, Paraná. A pioneering company in spreading the concept of smart cities in Brazil, always focused on intelligent urban development and improving the quality of life for people. Making good use of its innovative DNA,...

Global Innovation Spotlight

How Soft2Bet Built a Culture of Innovation from the Inside Out

Innovation as a Culture, Not a Department

In the hyper-paced iGaming industry, where change is constant and customer attention fleeting, some companies simply try to keep up. But others reimagine the race altogether. Soft2Bet belongs firmly in the latter camp. Rather than chasing trends, the company has consistently invested in its internal innovation engine — a culture-first,...

INNOVATE™ Alberta

EARTHWARE

THE LANDSCAPE OF REUSABLE PACKAGING SYSTEMS IS TRANSFORMED BY CALGARY’S EARTHWARE

It began as a lightbulb moment during the pandemic, when Earthware Reusables Inc. founder, John MacInnes, was moved to do something about the waste he and his family generated during a typical takeout meal. It has now turned into a worldwide first, in reusable systems. No stranger to entrepreneurship, having...

INNOVATE™ Botswana Vol.1

DIGITAL NATIVES

DIGITAL NATIVES LEADING THE CHANGE

LEADING THE CHANGE

Digital Natives is a 100% youth and citizen-owned, multi-award-winning software and disruptive agency with the founder, Mthabisi Bokete, being Standard Bank Africa Group’s youngest Board Member in the history of Stanbic Bank, both locally & globally. Digital Natives won the regional 2020 SADC Innovation and Investment Competition with their remarkable...

INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports

XP LEAGUE

XP LEAGUE- NORTH AMERICA’S PREMIER COACH-LED COMPETITIVE YOUTH ESPORTS LEAGUE

NORTH AMERICA’S PREMIER COACH-LED COMPETITIVE YOUTH ESPORTS LEAGUE

Despite launching in September 2020, during the height of a global pandemic, XP League quickly caught the attention of tech-savvy franchisees looking to turn their passion into a career. And esports are certainly a lucrative activity worthy of franchise investment; by 2023, it’s predicted that the industry could see revenues...

INNOVATE™ Adelaide

42 ADELAIDE

MAKING DIGITAL AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL, EVERYWHERE

In a world where traditional education models are struggling to meet the needs of a rapidly changing job market, 42 Adelaide has emerged as a big player in Australia. This innovative coding school was created in 2013 by Xavier Niel, a successful French serial entrepreneur, and has now become an...

INNOVATION Quebec

GROUPE CTT

CCTT IN TEXTILE TECHNOLOGIES, GEOSYNTHETICS AND ADVANCED TEXTILE-BASED MATERIALS

Groupe CTT is a non-profit organization specializing in applied research, development and analysis in the fields of technical textiles, geosynthetics and advanced textile-based materials. Created in 1983, Groupe CTT was one of the first college centres for the transfer oftechnology in Quebec. It is located on the Cégep de Saint-Hyacinthe...

INNOVATE™ Curitiba

LACTEC

INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Lactec is one of Brazil’s largest private, self-sustaining and non-profit research centers, which for over 60-years has been at the service of the market and society, offering solutions based on science, technology and innovation. It operates strongly in the Energy, Sanitation, Environment, Industry and Infrastructure markets, throughout the innovation cycle,...

INNOVATE™ Curitiba

POSITIVO TECNOLOGIA

CURITIBA AND POSITIVO TECNOLOGIA: EVOLUTION WITH TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION

We are a technology company, but our history is intrinsically linked to education. Unlike other large companies in the segment, we were created in 1989 inside a classroom. Our initial dream became a reality as we developed genuinely Brazilian technology, becoming a market reference and enabling millions of Brazilians to...

INNOVATE® Puerto Rico

BRAINHI

BRAINHI-

We give superpowers to healthcare providers with an AI virtual assistant that rescues their missed calls and streamlines their operations

BrainHi is an artificial intelligence company based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. BrainHi’s mission is to accelerate the transition of healthcare organizations to a fully digital patient experience. BrainHi’s primary objectives are to help healthcare providers: BrainHi was founded in 2017 by Emmanuel and Israel, 2 engineers from the University...

INNOVATION Quebec

OPTECH

CCTT EN OPTIQUE-PHOTONIQUE

Le centre collégial de transfert technologique (CCTT) Optech est un organisme à but non lucratif (OBNL) qui a été fondé en 2002 avec la mission de faire connaître les technologies reliées à l’optique – photonique et de contribuer à leur implantation afin de soutenir les efforts d’amélioration de productivité et...

INNOVATE™ Vancouver Vol.2

DGPR

REDEFINING STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS FOR CANADIAN TECH

The Canadian tech sector is booming, there’s no question about that. In 2021, despite the impacts of the pandemic and the general economic downturn, the information and communications technology (ICT) reflected a total 5.3% of the national GDP — that’s $104.5billion. This number, alongside a teeming collective of businesses that...

INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports

ALTURA

ALTURA-WHERE BLOCKCHAIN MEETS GAMING

WHERE BLOCKCHAIN MEETS GAMING

Altura’s mission is to provide gamers with the ability to control and own their in-game items and the ability for game developers to integrate blockchain technology in their video games seamlessly. Altura’s NFT Project The current state of NFTs is comparable to that of the web in the 90s; static...

INNOVATION Quebec

CONNEXION LAURENTIDES

THE ESSENTIAL LINK FOR SUCCESSFUL INNOVATIVE PROJECTS IN THE LAURENTIANS

Connexion Laurentides is a not for profit organization founded in November 2018. As an acceleration and growth space for the greater Laurentians region, it has been led from its very beginning by a dedicated team, with its main objectives being to mobilize the entrepreneurial ecosystem actors in the Laurentians around...

INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition

PodTechs

Internationalization: Podcasting Across Languages with Artificial Voices

In the halls of the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., two organizations met in 2019. PodTechs and Baycrest became partners in podcasting. Fast forward half a decade later, and in 2024, the duo accomplished a rare feat: Defy Dementia, which unpacks the significant effects of caregiving on brain health,...

INNOVATION Quebec

UQAT - NOUVEAUX MÉDIAS

CRÉATION ET NOUVEAUX MÉDIAS

Précurseur dans le domaine de l’enseignement universitaire en jeu vidéo, en création numérique et en création 3D, l’unité d’enseignement et de recherche en création et nouveaux médias de l’UQAT participe au développement des industries numériques et culturelles depuis plus de 20 ans. Répartie entre Montréal et Rouyn-Noranda, l’expertise de l’équipe...

INNOVATE™ Atlantic Canada

MITACS

MAKING WAVES AND BUILDING HOMES: THE IMPACT OF MITACS IN ATLANTIC CANADA

THE IMPACT OF MITACS IN ATLANTIC CANADA Mitacs, a national not-for-profit organization, drives innovation across Atlantic Canada through strategic collaborations. With a network of over 197 postsecondary institutions across the country and more than 25 years of experience, Mitacs employs a collaborative approach to research and innovation, matching need with...

INNOVATE™ Adelaide

SA POWER NETWORKS

Flexible energy resources key to a low carbon future

South Australia is going through an exciting energy transition in which it is leading the world in the race to achieve a net-100% renewable energy system – a target that is likely to be achieved before 2030. The State has moved quickly to harness its significant wind and solar resources...

INNOVATE™ Vancouver Vol.2

COHO COLLECTIVE KITCHENS

THE SECRET INGREDIENT FOR FOOD ENTREPRENEURS COHO IS REDEFINING THE SPACE-AS-A-SERVICE INDUSTRY AND THE FUTURE OF CULINARY ENTREPRENEURSHIP

The shared kitchen industry, also known as commissaries, is a rapidly growing sector that is changing how people think about food and culinary entrepreneurship. When starting or scaling a business, food and beverage based entrepreneurs face significant challenges and risks and require significant investment in space, equipment, and overhead costs....

INNOVATE™ Curitiba

VOLVO

ALWAYS LEADING EDGE IN INNOVATION FOR COMMERCIAL VEHICLES

Subsidiary of one of the world’s largest commercial vehicle OEMs, Volvo do Brasil has a track record marked by the development of innovative solutions in the passenger and cargo transportation sector in the country. Curitiba, the city chosen by OEM to be the location of its operations on the continent...

INNOVATE® Seattle

BRINC

TRANSFORMING PUBLIC SAFETY: THE FUTURE OF EMERGENCY RESPONSE

Blake Resnick, the founder and CEO of BRINC, started his engineering career at McLaren Automotive at 14. He later worked at Tesla Motors and DJI, the world’s largest drone company. Growing up in Las Vegas, the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting deeply impacted Blake, leading him to focus on public...

INNOVATE® Chicago Vol.1

SAFE STAYS BY RELOSHARE

SAFE STAYS BY RELOSHARE: Changing the Game for Emergency Housing by Providing Anonymous Hotel Bookings for Social Service Agencies

Changing the Game for Emergency Housing by Providing Anonymous Hotel Bookings for Social Service Agencies

According to the National Network to End Domestic Violence’s 2021 DV Counts Report, agencies were unable to provide emergency shelter to 1,982 adults and 1,184 children nationwide in just one day. Annualized, that’s 723,430 adults and 432,160 children who are left without access to emergency domestic violence shelters each year....

INNOVATION Quebec

IVÉO

FOR SUSTAINABLE AND SMARTER CITIES

IVÉO is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to accelerate the deployment of innovations in the municipal sector. Its interventions relate primarily to the experimentation and set up of pilot projects responding to the social, environmental and economic issues facing cities. By acting as an innovation broker between municipal authorities...

INNOVATE® Milwaukee

SUMMERFEST TECH

UNVEILING INNOVATION, CONNECTING COMMUNITIES

Technology’s power to drive collaboration is transformative. Summerfest Tech was created in 2018 to showcase the impactful influence of technology in Milwaukee and the Midwest, and provide a platform to network, educate, and celebrate the evolution of technology. Today, Summerfest Tech continues to leverage the world-class music festival Summerfest, while...

INNOVATE™ Curitiba

ICITIES

SMART PEOPLE CREATE SMART CITIES

It was with this mindset that iCities emerged 12 years ago in the city of Curitiba, Paraná. A pioneering company in spreading the concept of smart cities in Brazil, always focused on intelligent urban development and improving the quality of life for people. Making good use of its innovative DNA,...

Global Innovation Spotlight

How Soft2Bet Built a Culture of Innovation from the Inside Out

Innovation as a Culture, Not a Department

In the hyper-paced iGaming industry, where change is constant and customer attention fleeting, some companies simply try to keep up. But others reimagine the race altogether. Soft2Bet belongs firmly in the latter camp. Rather than chasing trends, the company has consistently invested in its internal innovation engine — a culture-first,...

INNOVATE™ Alberta

EARTHWARE

THE LANDSCAPE OF REUSABLE PACKAGING SYSTEMS IS TRANSFORMED BY CALGARY’S EARTHWARE

It began as a lightbulb moment during the pandemic, when Earthware Reusables Inc. founder, John MacInnes, was moved to do something about the waste he and his family generated during a typical takeout meal. It has now turned into a worldwide first, in reusable systems. No stranger to entrepreneurship, having...

INNOVATE™ Botswana Vol.1

DIGITAL NATIVES

DIGITAL NATIVES LEADING THE CHANGE

LEADING THE CHANGE

Digital Natives is a 100% youth and citizen-owned, multi-award-winning software and disruptive agency with the founder, Mthabisi Bokete, being Standard Bank Africa Group’s youngest Board Member in the history of Stanbic Bank, both locally & globally. Digital Natives won the regional 2020 SADC Innovation and Investment Competition with their remarkable...

INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports

XP LEAGUE

XP LEAGUE- NORTH AMERICA’S PREMIER COACH-LED COMPETITIVE YOUTH ESPORTS LEAGUE

NORTH AMERICA’S PREMIER COACH-LED COMPETITIVE YOUTH ESPORTS LEAGUE

Despite launching in September 2020, during the height of a global pandemic, XP League quickly caught the attention of tech-savvy franchisees looking to turn their passion into a career. And esports are certainly a lucrative activity worthy of franchise investment; by 2023, it’s predicted that the industry could see revenues...

INNOVATE™ Adelaide

42 ADELAIDE

MAKING DIGITAL AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL, EVERYWHERE

In a world where traditional education models are struggling to meet the needs of a rapidly changing job market, 42 Adelaide has emerged as a big player in Australia. This innovative coding school was created in 2013 by Xavier Niel, a successful French serial entrepreneur, and has now become an...

INNOVATION Quebec

GROUPE CTT

CCTT IN TEXTILE TECHNOLOGIES, GEOSYNTHETICS AND ADVANCED TEXTILE-BASED MATERIALS

Groupe CTT is a non-profit organization specializing in applied research, development and analysis in the fields of technical textiles, geosynthetics and advanced textile-based materials. Created in 1983, Groupe CTT was one of the first college centres for the transfer oftechnology in Quebec. It is located on the Cégep de Saint-Hyacinthe...

INNOVATE™ Curitiba

LACTEC

INNOVATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Lactec is one of Brazil’s largest private, self-sustaining and non-profit research centers, which for over 60-years has been at the service of the market and society, offering solutions based on science, technology and innovation. It operates strongly in the Energy, Sanitation, Environment, Industry and Infrastructure markets, throughout the innovation cycle,...

INNOVATE™ Curitiba

POSITIVO TECNOLOGIA

CURITIBA AND POSITIVO TECNOLOGIA: EVOLUTION WITH TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION

We are a technology company, but our history is intrinsically linked to education. Unlike other large companies in the segment, we were created in 1989 inside a classroom. Our initial dream became a reality as we developed genuinely Brazilian technology, becoming a market reference and enabling millions of Brazilians to...

INNOVATE® Puerto Rico

BRAINHI

BRAINHI-

We give superpowers to healthcare providers with an AI virtual assistant that rescues their missed calls and streamlines their operations

BrainHi is an artificial intelligence company based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. BrainHi’s mission is to accelerate the transition of healthcare organizations to a fully digital patient experience. BrainHi’s primary objectives are to help healthcare providers: BrainHi was founded in 2017 by Emmanuel and Israel, 2 engineers from the University...

INNOVATION Quebec

OPTECH

CCTT EN OPTIQUE-PHOTONIQUE

Le centre collégial de transfert technologique (CCTT) Optech est un organisme à but non lucratif (OBNL) qui a été fondé en 2002 avec la mission de faire connaître les technologies reliées à l’optique – photonique et de contribuer à leur implantation afin de soutenir les efforts d’amélioration de productivité et...

INNOVATE™ Vancouver Vol.2

DGPR

REDEFINING STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS FOR CANADIAN TECH

The Canadian tech sector is booming, there’s no question about that. In 2021, despite the impacts of the pandemic and the general economic downturn, the information and communications technology (ICT) reflected a total 5.3% of the national GDP — that’s $104.5billion. This number, alongside a teeming collective of businesses that...

INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports

ALTURA

ALTURA-WHERE BLOCKCHAIN MEETS GAMING

WHERE BLOCKCHAIN MEETS GAMING

Altura’s mission is to provide gamers with the ability to control and own their in-game items and the ability for game developers to integrate blockchain technology in their video games seamlessly. Altura’s NFT Project The current state of NFTs is comparable to that of the web in the 90s; static...

INNOVATION Quebec

CONNEXION LAURENTIDES

THE ESSENTIAL LINK FOR SUCCESSFUL INNOVATIVE PROJECTS IN THE LAURENTIANS

Connexion Laurentides is a not for profit organization founded in November 2018. As an acceleration and growth space for the greater Laurentians region, it has been led from its very beginning by a dedicated team, with its main objectives being to mobilize the entrepreneurial ecosystem actors in the Laurentians around...

INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition

PodTechs

Internationalization: Podcasting Across Languages with Artificial Voices

In the halls of the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., two organizations met in 2019. PodTechs and Baycrest became partners in podcasting. Fast forward half a decade later, and in 2024, the duo accomplished a rare feat: Defy Dementia, which unpacks the significant effects of caregiving on brain health,...

INNOVATION Quebec

UQAT - NOUVEAUX MÉDIAS

CRÉATION ET NOUVEAUX MÉDIAS

Précurseur dans le domaine de l’enseignement universitaire en jeu vidéo, en création numérique et en création 3D, l’unité d’enseignement et de recherche en création et nouveaux médias de l’UQAT participe au développement des industries numériques et culturelles depuis plus de 20 ans. Répartie entre Montréal et Rouyn-Noranda, l’expertise de l’équipe...

INNOVATE™ Atlantic Canada

MITACS

MAKING WAVES AND BUILDING HOMES: THE IMPACT OF MITACS IN ATLANTIC CANADA

THE IMPACT OF MITACS IN ATLANTIC CANADA Mitacs, a national not-for-profit organization, drives innovation across Atlantic Canada through strategic collaborations. With a network of over 197 postsecondary institutions across the country and more than 25 years of experience, Mitacs employs a collaborative approach to research and innovation, matching need with...

INNOVATE™ Adelaide

SA POWER NETWORKS

Flexible energy resources key to a low carbon future

South Australia is going through an exciting energy transition in which it is leading the world in the race to achieve a net-100% renewable energy system – a target that is likely to be achieved before 2030. The State has moved quickly to harness its significant wind and solar resources...

Ecosystems