Stories of Innovation
INNOVATE® Seattle
Youth Growth Network
Empowering the Next Generation
Founding Story: Bridging the Gap Between Education and Real-World Experience Youth Growth Network (YGN) was founded with a powerful mission: to bridge the gap between academic learning and the real-world skills students need to thrive in their future careers. Recognizing that traditional education often falls short in providing hands-on experiences,...
INNOVATE® Maryland
SoKat
Turning AI Research Into Mission-Ready Infrastructure
When Dr. Jim Kyung-Soo Liew founded SoKat in 2014, the problem he set out to solve wasn’t a shortage of AI innovation. It was separation. Research was accelerating inside the world’s leading universities. Yet much of that intelligence stalled before it reached the institutions that needed it most. Federal agencies...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
iTOUCH
FROM ZERO TO BILLION$
In a world where data has become the currency of our supposed future resulting in valuations of businesses from zero to billions within a relatively short while, you need to ask yourself this question; How am I benefitting from the data-sets I have in my business, if at all? And...
INNOVATE™ Antwerp Vol.2
SUCCES KOFFIE
A STORY ABOUT NEVER NO COFFEE AND NEW EXPERIENCES
Succes Koffie is a coffee roaster/brand with a never ending passion for nature, experiences and a little rebellion. As a team they channel these interests into their coffees and the way they engage with their customers. Tom Arts, CEO The journey of Succes Koffie started more than 130 years ago...
INNOVATE® Austin Volume 2
TROY JESSEE CONSTRUCTION
CARE BY DESIGN
“An emphasis on long-term relationships, coupled with an ethic that treats everyone with the highest degree of respect, has created beautiful construction and bonds that enrich the community.” How much architecture can you fit in a building? That’s a line as old as the construction industry itself – and one...
INNOVATION Quebec
CHAUDIÈRES-APPALACHES ÉCONOMIQUE
ESPACE RÉGIONAL ACCÉLÉRATION ET CROISSANCE DES ENTREPRISES
Depuis près de 15 ans, Chaudière-Appalaches Économique (CAÉ) a pour mission de stimuler le développement économique en soutenant la cohérence et la mise en commun des actions et des services de ses membres, en concertation avec les organismes partenaires du développement économique et dans le respect de leurs mandats. Parmi...
INNOVATE™ Curitiba
KLABIN IN PARANÁ
ROOTS FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
The largest producer and exporter of paper for packaging and sustainable solutions in paper packaging in Brazil, Klabin is a protagonist in a history characterized by innovation and a commitment with sustainable development. Founded in 1899, the Company stands out as the only one in Brazil offering solutions in softwood,...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
TIGER BRANDS
KEEPING UP WITH THE CONSUMER THROUGH INNOVATIVE PRODUCT OFFERINGS
For more than 100 years, Tiger Brands has produced some of South Africa’s most loved quality brands from culinary favourites like Jungle Oats, All Gold Tomato Sauce and Black Cat Peanut Butter, to personal care products. But as much as these have become staples in local homes, which we are...
INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports
CAPSL
Connect, Engage, Compete! CAPSL Disrupts The Esports Scene With BAASH To Ignite The Next Generation Of Esports Heroes
CAPSL is the developer of BAASH, the mobile social gaming platform helping game influencers engage and monetize their fans via competition. Starting out in Southeast Asia, BAASH targets the 300 million mobile gamers in the region. By using a combination of chat and integrated competitions, BAASH reduces operational efforts by...
INNOVATE™ Toronto
AIRMATRIX
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...
INNOVATE™ Stockholm
MOTORICA
ANIMATION AT SCALE, CREATIVITY IN CONTROL
The gaming and interactive media industries are built on the ambition of creating experiences that customers love. Players expect living, reactive worlds. Studios dream big to fulfill those expectations but often find themselves blocked by outdated workflows and legacy pipelines. Instead of creating, teams are stuck firefighting, forced to choose...
INNOVATE® Jacksonville
Forcura
Designed Specifically For The Complexity Of Home Health And Hospice Agencies
Craig Mandeville, CEO of Jacksonville, Florida-based healthcare technology provider Forcura founded his company for personal reasons, hoping to lessen the time his wife spent driving back and forth to her employer’s home healthcare agency. In her role at the time, Heather Mandeville helped patients who were leaving a hospital transition...
INNOVATE® Detroit
Centrepolis Accelerator
Empowering Hardtech Startups & Strengthening Domestic Manufacturing
Centrepolis Accelerator @ LTU is committed to strengthening supply chain resiliency to drive economic growth and innovation in Michigan. It offers hardtech startups and small to medium-sized manufacturers access to product development services and tailored funding solutions, ensuring they have the resources needed to scale and succeed. Centrepolis Accelerator @LTU’s...
INNOVATE™ Curitiba
ESFERA
DELIGHTING CUSTOMERS, SHAPING THE FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGY WITH PERSONALIZED INNOVATION
ESFERA-DELIGHTING CUSTOMERS, SHAPING THE FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGY WITH PERSONALIZED INNOVATION AND IMPACTFUL SOLUTIONS! With a history that spans three decades, Esfera Informática establishes itself as an institution committed to excellence, with advanced technologies and innovation as its fundamental pillars. Certified by MPSBr, the company constantly improves the development of software...
INNOVATE® Nashville
ZIGNYL
YOUR FRONTLINE IS YOUR BOTTOM LINE
Zigy was born out of the simple yet often overlooked truth that a business’s success lives or dies at the frontline. While executives may set the strategy, it’s the employees at the counter, on the floor, or behind the wheel who determine whether customers return, sales grow, and brands thrive....
INNOVATE® Jacksonville
Jane Shirek Photography
Capturing the intimate souls of her subjects, rather than merely a look
Jane Shirek stands out in the photography industry not only for her widely praised talent but also for her years of experience working with all types of people and clients in many cities and countries. As a photographer, she brings out the very best of everyone she photographs. Jane has...
INNOVATION Quebec
2 DEGRÉS
EST UN INCUBATEUR SPÉCIALISÉ EN TECHNOLOGIES PROPRES AU QUÉBEC
2 Degrés accompagne des startups au stade de pré-démarrage, jusqu’au démarrage, qui proposent une solution innovante démontrant un fort potentiel de croissance et d’impact dans les secteurs des énergies, des matières résiduelles et de l’eau. Basé dans la Ville de Québec, 2 Degrés est né d’un rassemblement de jeunes gens...
INNOVATE™ Oeiras
THE MUNICIPALITY OF OEIRAS ARTS AND CULTURE
Oeiras, Facing Its Future
In recent decades, Oeiras has seen some very significant changes. Namely, the housing qualification cycle – Oeiras was the first municipality in the country to eliminate shanties, providing decent housing to all residents. The cycle of attracting business, science and innovation is also worth mentioning; Oeiras is home to the...
INNOVATE™ Curitiba
GRUPO SERVOPA
INNOVATION ON WHEELS: GRUPO SERVOPA AND ITS AUTOMOTIVE REVOLUTION IN CURITIBA
Since its foundation in 1955, Grupo Servopa has been a true pioneer in the automotive and service sectors, playing a crucial role in Curitiba’s economic landscape. With a vision rooted in sustainable growth, the group expanded its presence with established brands and invested in innovative initiatives to drive the automotive...
INNOVATE® Blockchain
BITCOIN.COM
Helping to Build and Expose the Works of Africa’s Fintech Innovators to the World
There is no question that the global financial services industry has failed to serve everyone and has for a long time not been for everyone. The fact that more than 1.5 billion people are still without a bank account or have no access to banking services is ample evidence of...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
EVERYDAY SPEAK
CREATIVITY WILL MAKE THE 21ST CENTURY AFRICA’S CENTURY
Founded in 2017, by Melusi Tshabalala (creative professional, entrepreneur, author, speaker, humourist, language & culture activist), Everyday Speak is a culture, dialogue, language activism, advertising and design company. Driven by the ethos – Creativity can make the 21st century Africa’s century – Everyday Speak develops ideas and solutions that touch...
INNOVATE® Nashville
RACHEL + WINFREE
In a data-driven economy, being able to use your data to make better decisions, develop better products, or better target your customer are skills that will separate businesses that thrive from those that fail
Small businesses make up 99.9% of all companies in the United States. Within a year, 20% of new small businesses fail. That number rises to 30% before the end of the second year. After five years, half of those small businesses have failed. Profits only start trickling in after 18...
INNOVATE® Jacksonville
When visitors arrive in destinations like Nashville, Las Vegas, or Boston, they know exactly what to expect. Whether it’s the music, the nightlife, or the culture, these epicenters of travel and tourism always deliver. Wander has effectively become visitors’ go-to resource for where to eat, drink, shop, and play. –...
INNOVATE™ Adelaide
ANDY THOMAS SPACE FOUNDATION
RECOGNISED AS AUSTRALIA’S NATIONAL SPACE NOT-FOR-PROFIT, SUPPORTING THE EDUCATION AND OUTREACH GOALS
With strong support from the Australian Space Agency, South Australian Government and a number of start-up and corporate space industry partners, the Foundation has provided invaluable education and engagement opportunities for students and individuals across Australia. Named after Founding Patron and retired NASA astronaut, Dr Andrew Thomas, a veteran of...
INNOVATE® Seattle
Youth Growth Network
Empowering the Next Generation
Founding Story: Bridging the Gap Between Education and Real-World Experience Youth Growth Network (YGN) was founded with a powerful mission: to bridge the gap between academic learning and the real-world skills students need to thrive in their future careers. Recognizing that traditional education often falls short in providing hands-on experiences,...
INNOVATE® Maryland
SoKat
Turning AI Research Into Mission-Ready Infrastructure
When Dr. Jim Kyung-Soo Liew founded SoKat in 2014, the problem he set out to solve wasn’t a shortage of AI innovation. It was separation. Research was accelerating inside the world’s leading universities. Yet much of that intelligence stalled before it reached the institutions that needed it most. Federal agencies...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
iTOUCH
FROM ZERO TO BILLION$
In a world where data has become the currency of our supposed future resulting in valuations of businesses from zero to billions within a relatively short while, you need to ask yourself this question; How am I benefitting from the data-sets I have in my business, if at all? And...
INNOVATE™ Antwerp Vol.2
SUCCES KOFFIE
A STORY ABOUT NEVER NO COFFEE AND NEW EXPERIENCES
Succes Koffie is a coffee roaster/brand with a never ending passion for nature, experiences and a little rebellion. As a team they channel these interests into their coffees and the way they engage with their customers. Tom Arts, CEO The journey of Succes Koffie started more than 130 years ago...
INNOVATE® Austin Volume 2
TROY JESSEE CONSTRUCTION
CARE BY DESIGN
“An emphasis on long-term relationships, coupled with an ethic that treats everyone with the highest degree of respect, has created beautiful construction and bonds that enrich the community.” How much architecture can you fit in a building? That’s a line as old as the construction industry itself – and one...
INNOVATION Quebec
CHAUDIÈRES-APPALACHES ÉCONOMIQUE
ESPACE RÉGIONAL ACCÉLÉRATION ET CROISSANCE DES ENTREPRISES
Depuis près de 15 ans, Chaudière-Appalaches Économique (CAÉ) a pour mission de stimuler le développement économique en soutenant la cohérence et la mise en commun des actions et des services de ses membres, en concertation avec les organismes partenaires du développement économique et dans le respect de leurs mandats. Parmi...
INNOVATE™ Curitiba
KLABIN IN PARANÁ
ROOTS FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
The largest producer and exporter of paper for packaging and sustainable solutions in paper packaging in Brazil, Klabin is a protagonist in a history characterized by innovation and a commitment with sustainable development. Founded in 1899, the Company stands out as the only one in Brazil offering solutions in softwood,...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
TIGER BRANDS
KEEPING UP WITH THE CONSUMER THROUGH INNOVATIVE PRODUCT OFFERINGS
For more than 100 years, Tiger Brands has produced some of South Africa’s most loved quality brands from culinary favourites like Jungle Oats, All Gold Tomato Sauce and Black Cat Peanut Butter, to personal care products. But as much as these have become staples in local homes, which we are...
INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports
CAPSL
Connect, Engage, Compete! CAPSL Disrupts The Esports Scene With BAASH To Ignite The Next Generation Of Esports Heroes
CAPSL is the developer of BAASH, the mobile social gaming platform helping game influencers engage and monetize their fans via competition. Starting out in Southeast Asia, BAASH targets the 300 million mobile gamers in the region. By using a combination of chat and integrated competitions, BAASH reduces operational efforts by...
INNOVATE™ Toronto
AIRMATRIX
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...
INNOVATE™ Stockholm
MOTORICA
ANIMATION AT SCALE, CREATIVITY IN CONTROL
The gaming and interactive media industries are built on the ambition of creating experiences that customers love. Players expect living, reactive worlds. Studios dream big to fulfill those expectations but often find themselves blocked by outdated workflows and legacy pipelines. Instead of creating, teams are stuck firefighting, forced to choose...
INNOVATE® Jacksonville
Forcura
Designed Specifically For The Complexity Of Home Health And Hospice Agencies
Craig Mandeville, CEO of Jacksonville, Florida-based healthcare technology provider Forcura founded his company for personal reasons, hoping to lessen the time his wife spent driving back and forth to her employer’s home healthcare agency. In her role at the time, Heather Mandeville helped patients who were leaving a hospital transition...
INNOVATE® Detroit
Centrepolis Accelerator
Empowering Hardtech Startups & Strengthening Domestic Manufacturing
Centrepolis Accelerator @ LTU is committed to strengthening supply chain resiliency to drive economic growth and innovation in Michigan. It offers hardtech startups and small to medium-sized manufacturers access to product development services and tailored funding solutions, ensuring they have the resources needed to scale and succeed. Centrepolis Accelerator @LTU’s...
INNOVATE™ Curitiba
ESFERA
DELIGHTING CUSTOMERS, SHAPING THE FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGY WITH PERSONALIZED INNOVATION
ESFERA-DELIGHTING CUSTOMERS, SHAPING THE FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGY WITH PERSONALIZED INNOVATION AND IMPACTFUL SOLUTIONS! With a history that spans three decades, Esfera Informática establishes itself as an institution committed to excellence, with advanced technologies and innovation as its fundamental pillars. Certified by MPSBr, the company constantly improves the development of software...
INNOVATE® Nashville
ZIGNYL
YOUR FRONTLINE IS YOUR BOTTOM LINE
Zigy was born out of the simple yet often overlooked truth that a business’s success lives or dies at the frontline. While executives may set the strategy, it’s the employees at the counter, on the floor, or behind the wheel who determine whether customers return, sales grow, and brands thrive....
INNOVATE® Jacksonville
Jane Shirek Photography
Capturing the intimate souls of her subjects, rather than merely a look
Jane Shirek stands out in the photography industry not only for her widely praised talent but also for her years of experience working with all types of people and clients in many cities and countries. As a photographer, she brings out the very best of everyone she photographs. Jane has...
INNOVATION Quebec
2 DEGRÉS
EST UN INCUBATEUR SPÉCIALISÉ EN TECHNOLOGIES PROPRES AU QUÉBEC
2 Degrés accompagne des startups au stade de pré-démarrage, jusqu’au démarrage, qui proposent une solution innovante démontrant un fort potentiel de croissance et d’impact dans les secteurs des énergies, des matières résiduelles et de l’eau. Basé dans la Ville de Québec, 2 Degrés est né d’un rassemblement de jeunes gens...
INNOVATE™ Oeiras
THE MUNICIPALITY OF OEIRAS ARTS AND CULTURE
Oeiras, Facing Its Future
In recent decades, Oeiras has seen some very significant changes. Namely, the housing qualification cycle – Oeiras was the first municipality in the country to eliminate shanties, providing decent housing to all residents. The cycle of attracting business, science and innovation is also worth mentioning; Oeiras is home to the...
INNOVATE™ Curitiba
GRUPO SERVOPA
INNOVATION ON WHEELS: GRUPO SERVOPA AND ITS AUTOMOTIVE REVOLUTION IN CURITIBA
Since its foundation in 1955, Grupo Servopa has been a true pioneer in the automotive and service sectors, playing a crucial role in Curitiba’s economic landscape. With a vision rooted in sustainable growth, the group expanded its presence with established brands and invested in innovative initiatives to drive the automotive...
INNOVATE® Blockchain
BITCOIN.COM
Helping to Build and Expose the Works of Africa’s Fintech Innovators to the World
There is no question that the global financial services industry has failed to serve everyone and has for a long time not been for everyone. The fact that more than 1.5 billion people are still without a bank account or have no access to banking services is ample evidence of...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
EVERYDAY SPEAK
CREATIVITY WILL MAKE THE 21ST CENTURY AFRICA’S CENTURY
Founded in 2017, by Melusi Tshabalala (creative professional, entrepreneur, author, speaker, humourist, language & culture activist), Everyday Speak is a culture, dialogue, language activism, advertising and design company. Driven by the ethos – Creativity can make the 21st century Africa’s century – Everyday Speak develops ideas and solutions that touch...
INNOVATE® Nashville
RACHEL + WINFREE
In a data-driven economy, being able to use your data to make better decisions, develop better products, or better target your customer are skills that will separate businesses that thrive from those that fail
Small businesses make up 99.9% of all companies in the United States. Within a year, 20% of new small businesses fail. That number rises to 30% before the end of the second year. After five years, half of those small businesses have failed. Profits only start trickling in after 18...
INNOVATE® Jacksonville
When visitors arrive in destinations like Nashville, Las Vegas, or Boston, they know exactly what to expect. Whether it’s the music, the nightlife, or the culture, these epicenters of travel and tourism always deliver. Wander has effectively become visitors’ go-to resource for where to eat, drink, shop, and play. –...
INNOVATE™ Adelaide
ANDY THOMAS SPACE FOUNDATION
RECOGNISED AS AUSTRALIA’S NATIONAL SPACE NOT-FOR-PROFIT, SUPPORTING THE EDUCATION AND OUTREACH GOALS
With strong support from the Australian Space Agency, South Australian Government and a number of start-up and corporate space industry partners, the Foundation has provided invaluable education and engagement opportunities for students and individuals across Australia. Named after Founding Patron and retired NASA astronaut, Dr Andrew Thomas, a veteran of...