Stories of Innovation

INNOVATE® Detroit

Pope Francis Center

Works Toward a Detroit Future Without Chronic Homelessness

“When we work together, miracles happen.” Fr. Tim McCabe, SJ, says those words often. Fr. Tim, as he is known, is president and CEO of the Pope Francis Center (PFC), a Detroit nonprofit that serves people experiencing homelessness. PFC started humbly in 1990 when Saints Peter and Paul Jesuit Church...

INNOVATE® Puerto Rico

ABARCA HEALTH

ABARCA HEALTH-A DIFFERENT KIND OF PHARMACY BENEFIT MANAGER

A DIFFERENT KIND OF PHARMACY BENEFIT MANAGER

Abarca was founded to deliver a better way in healthcare. For more than fifteen years, the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) and technology company has been delivering on that promise for its health plan clients and their members through: A smarter platform: Abarca built DarwinTM, its healthcare technology platform, in-house from the...

INNOVATE® Miami

EveryMundo

EveryMundo - Provides software products that airlines integrate into their websites to improve their direct sales

Provides software products that airlines integrate into their websites to improve their direct sales

EveryMundo provides software products that airlines integrate into their websites to improve their direct sales and help them compete with the third-party giants of the travel industry.   In today’s digital world, airlines must execute best-in-class online marketing strategies if they intend to compete with third-party online travel companies for...

INNOVATE™ Adelaide

CROPIFY

ELIMINATING SUBJECTIVE TESTING OF PULSE AND GRAIN CROPS

CHALLENGEGlobally, grain and pulse crops are classified to determine the grade of a crop. This grade determines the financial return to the seller / farmer. The classification process currently consists of approximately 53% subjective and 47% objective testing. Subjective testing leads to disputes and a lack of confidence in the...

United Nations Lesotho

UNFPA

UNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUND

The Sexual and Reproductive Health Agency INTRODUCTION UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, established its presence in Lesotho in the 1970s, focusing on improving the quality of life for all Basotho through various programs and initiatives. The Fund has been working closely with the Government and other stakeholders to address...

INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2

UNIONWEAR

USA MADE BASEBALL CAPS AND TOTE BAGS: DESIGNED BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, MANUFACTURED BY ROBOTS.

Unionwear manufactures – from scratch—100% made in USA baseball hats, backpacks, messenger bags, portfolios, and binders, with 160 union sewers in Newark, NJ. Mitch Cahn founded Unionwear in 1992 with six sewers and a contract to make baseball hats for Ralph Lauren, and has evolved by buying legacy manufacturers of...

INNOVATE™ Antwerp Vol.2

VOKA - CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MECHELEN-KEMPEN

VOKA-CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MECHELEN-KEMPEN- YOUR TRUSTED PARTNER. LET’S GROW YOUR BUSINESS

YOUR TRUSTED PARTNER. LET’S GROW YOUR BUSINESS

With more than 13,000 chambers worldwide, the Chamber of Commerce is the largest entrepreneurial network in the world. In Flanders, too, the Voka Chambers are the largest network. Voka represents 18,000businesses, 70% of added value, 65% of private employment and 80% of exports. With a globally ramified network of 130...

INNOVATE™ South Africa

BRIDGES FOR MUSIC

CHANGING LIVES THROUGH CREATIVE EDUCATION AND MUSIC

Bridges for Music was launched as a dream of connecting the broader music industry with young creatives from underserved communities....

INNOVATION Quebec

DigiHub

Created in 2014, the Shawinigan DigiHub is a non-profit organization that offers a complete ecosystem designed to foster innovation, collaboration, business development, and digital-related projects

Since its founding, the DigiHub has become a model that is being emulated and recognized as the 3rd digital hub in Quebec behind Montrèal and Québec City. As a key player in Shawinigan’s economic shift towards a digital economy and a smart city status, the Digihub has always been at...

INNOVATION Quebec

NUMANA

QUEBEC’S MACRO-ACCELERATOR

Numana is a Quebec based not-forprofit organization (NPO) and acts as a macro-accelerator by creating, promoting and energizing ICT technology ecosystem projects. In this endeavour, Numana brings together ecosystems composed of companies using technologies and technology providers (hardware, software and applications), public organisations, and research and test centers to foster...

INNOVATE™ Curitiba

OLIST

MEET OLIST, THE LEADING ECOSYSTEM IN E-COMMERCE SOLUTIONS FOR SMES

Founded in 2015, Olist is a benchmark startup in e-commerce solutions for small and medium-sized businesses, focused on operational management, increased competitiveness in marketplaces and multichannel sales. In 2021, the company acquired Tiny e Vnda, companies based on high technology that offer top-notch services and share the same goal of...

INNOVATE® Nashville

EXTREMIS

ON THE SPECTRUM

“Imagine a world where everything that can be connected will be connected – where driverless cars talk to smart transportation networks and where sensors can monitor your health and transmit data to your doctor. That’s a snapshot of what the 5g world will look like.” – Ajit Pai, Former FCC...

Global Innovation Spotlight

Sticker Builder

Unlocking the Next Frontier

“Mass customization made simple. Creative chaos made scalable.” In today’s experience-driven economy, personalization isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s the foundation of competitive advantage. Customers expect more than just products; they want creative control, self-expression, and seamless experiences. That’s where Sticker Builder by Antigro Designer, based in Kraków, Poland, comes in. This...

INNOVATE® Nashville

Schneider Electric

Global Industrial Energy Technology Leader

Schneider Electric is a global industrial energy technology leader bringing world-leading expertise in electrification, automation and digitalization to smart industries, resilient infrastructure, future-proof data centers, intelligent buildings, and intuitive homes. Anchored by deep domain expertise, the company provides integrated end-to-end lifecycle AI-enabled Industrial IoT solutions with connected products, automation, software,...

INNOVATE™ Alberta

GLENROSE HOSPITAL FOUNDATION

REIMAGINING HUMAN ABILITY

THE GLENROSE REHABILITATION HOSPITAL (GRH)The Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital (GRH) is the largest free-standing, comprehensive tertiary rehabilitation hospital in Canada, serving patients of all ages who require complex rehabilitation to enable them to participate in life to the fullest. The 244-bed facility provides specialized physical rehabilitation and therapeutic services across 16...

INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports

ULTRA

ULTRA-GAMERS HAVE WANTED TO DO MORE WHILE GAMING. NOW THEY CAN.

GAMERS HAVE WANTED TO DO MORE WHILE GAMING. NOW THEY CAN.

READY PLAYER ONE“What if I actually owned my digital games and in-game items?” That’s been the question on most gamers’ minds.   With limited solutions and some gamers resorting to the shady secondhand grey market to make use of their content outside of the game, David Hanson and Nicolas Gilot,...

INNOVATE® Jacksonville

ITG Technologies

ITG Technologies-Provides Innovative Data-Driven Technology Solutions

Provides Innovative Data-Driven Technology Solutions

ITG is a digital transformation company providing state of the art technology solutions to fortune 500 enterprises in the greater southeast corridor of the US. With over 100 years of combined experience and a skilled staff of automation & software engineers, ITG is able to provide innovative data-driven technology solutions...

INNOVATE™ Bristol & Bath

BRISTOL HEALTH PARTNERS

BRISTOL HEALTH PARTNERS-Bringing Together The Best In Research And Innovation To Improve Health And Care Across Bristol

Bringing Together The Best In Research And Innovation To Improve Health And Care Across Bristol, North Somerset And South Gloucestershire

The Bristol Health Partners Academic Health Science Centre (AHSC) mission is to generate significant health gain and improvements in service delivery in the region by integrating, promoting and developing our strengths in health services, research, innovation and education. We are a strategic collaboration between the city region’s universities, major health...

INNOVATION Quebec

THE CENTER FOR FOREST RESEARCH (CFR)

THE CENTER FOR FOREST RESEARCH (CFR) – IS A STRATEGIC CLUSTER THAT HAS BEEN FUNDEDBY THE FONDS DE RECHERCHE DU QUÉBEC-NATURE ET TECHNOLOGIES (FRQNT) SINCE 2006. It is the only research group in Quebec whose central mission is advanced training in forest research. The scientific mission of the CFR is...

INNOVATION Quebec

Université de Sherbrooke

Innovation runs deep in the DNA of the Université de Sherbrooke. To innovate, it dares to think differently and builds on its culture of partnerships. Since its creation, UdeS has closely collaborated with the business, industrial and community sectors. Today, this proximity makes UdeS a key partner that organizations naturally...

INNOVATE® Seattle

Madrona

A PARTNER AND BACKER OF FOUNDERS AT THE INNOVATION, EARLY AND ACCELERATION STAGES

A PARTNER AND BACKER OF FOUNDERS AT THE INNOVATION, EARLY AND ACCELERATION STAGES. Madrona starts working with leadership teams before the first investment, supporting them with capital and hard work. We have been doing this since 1995 and actively invest in AI, enterprise technology, marketplaces, and more. As the tech...

INNOVATE™ Estonia

B.EST SOLUTIONS

REDEFINING SECURE DIGITAL IDENTITY WHILE STRENGTHENING LOCAL ECOSYSTEMS

Can a digital state be built from scratch with external expertise and support? B.EST Solutions has spent the past 15 years proving that it can. Founded with the mission of adapting Estonia’s pioneering digital state experience to new contexts, the company has become a trusted developer and operator of national...

INNOVATE™ Flanders

KNAPP

MAKING COMPLEXITY SIMPLE INNOVATION AND KNAPP ARE INSEPARABLY LINKED

In a world where everything is constantly changing, strong values and trust matter. Partnerships matter. The KNAPP Group provides intelligent logistics solutions for data-driven value chains, uniting technological know-how with its long-established experience in diverse industries. KNAPP brings new technology to warehouse logistics, working with its customers globally to develop...

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® Detroit

Pope Francis Center

Works Toward a Detroit Future Without Chronic Homelessness

“When we work together, miracles happen.” Fr. Tim McCabe, SJ, says those words often. Fr. Tim, as he is known, is president and CEO of the Pope Francis Center (PFC), a Detroit nonprofit that serves people experiencing homelessness. PFC started humbly in 1990 when Saints Peter and Paul Jesuit Church...

INNOVATE® Puerto Rico

ABARCA HEALTH

ABARCA HEALTH-A DIFFERENT KIND OF PHARMACY BENEFIT MANAGER

A DIFFERENT KIND OF PHARMACY BENEFIT MANAGER

Abarca was founded to deliver a better way in healthcare. For more than fifteen years, the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) and technology company has been delivering on that promise for its health plan clients and their members through: A smarter platform: Abarca built DarwinTM, its healthcare technology platform, in-house from the...

INNOVATE® Miami

EveryMundo

EveryMundo - Provides software products that airlines integrate into their websites to improve their direct sales

Provides software products that airlines integrate into their websites to improve their direct sales

EveryMundo provides software products that airlines integrate into their websites to improve their direct sales and help them compete with the third-party giants of the travel industry.   In today’s digital world, airlines must execute best-in-class online marketing strategies if they intend to compete with third-party online travel companies for...

INNOVATE™ Adelaide

CROPIFY

ELIMINATING SUBJECTIVE TESTING OF PULSE AND GRAIN CROPS

CHALLENGEGlobally, grain and pulse crops are classified to determine the grade of a crop. This grade determines the financial return to the seller / farmer. The classification process currently consists of approximately 53% subjective and 47% objective testing. Subjective testing leads to disputes and a lack of confidence in the...

United Nations Lesotho

UNFPA

UNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUND

The Sexual and Reproductive Health Agency INTRODUCTION UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, established its presence in Lesotho in the 1970s, focusing on improving the quality of life for all Basotho through various programs and initiatives. The Fund has been working closely with the Government and other stakeholders to address...

INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2

UNIONWEAR

USA MADE BASEBALL CAPS AND TOTE BAGS: DESIGNED BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, MANUFACTURED BY ROBOTS.

Unionwear manufactures – from scratch—100% made in USA baseball hats, backpacks, messenger bags, portfolios, and binders, with 160 union sewers in Newark, NJ. Mitch Cahn founded Unionwear in 1992 with six sewers and a contract to make baseball hats for Ralph Lauren, and has evolved by buying legacy manufacturers of...

INNOVATE™ Antwerp Vol.2

VOKA - CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MECHELEN-KEMPEN

VOKA-CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MECHELEN-KEMPEN- YOUR TRUSTED PARTNER. LET’S GROW YOUR BUSINESS

YOUR TRUSTED PARTNER. LET’S GROW YOUR BUSINESS

With more than 13,000 chambers worldwide, the Chamber of Commerce is the largest entrepreneurial network in the world. In Flanders, too, the Voka Chambers are the largest network. Voka represents 18,000businesses, 70% of added value, 65% of private employment and 80% of exports. With a globally ramified network of 130...

INNOVATE™ South Africa

BRIDGES FOR MUSIC

CHANGING LIVES THROUGH CREATIVE EDUCATION AND MUSIC

Bridges for Music was launched as a dream of connecting the broader music industry with young creatives from underserved communities....

INNOVATION Quebec

DigiHub

Created in 2014, the Shawinigan DigiHub is a non-profit organization that offers a complete ecosystem designed to foster innovation, collaboration, business development, and digital-related projects

Since its founding, the DigiHub has become a model that is being emulated and recognized as the 3rd digital hub in Quebec behind Montrèal and Québec City. As a key player in Shawinigan’s economic shift towards a digital economy and a smart city status, the Digihub has always been at...

INNOVATION Quebec

NUMANA

QUEBEC’S MACRO-ACCELERATOR

Numana is a Quebec based not-forprofit organization (NPO) and acts as a macro-accelerator by creating, promoting and energizing ICT technology ecosystem projects. In this endeavour, Numana brings together ecosystems composed of companies using technologies and technology providers (hardware, software and applications), public organisations, and research and test centers to foster...

INNOVATE™ Curitiba

OLIST

MEET OLIST, THE LEADING ECOSYSTEM IN E-COMMERCE SOLUTIONS FOR SMES

Founded in 2015, Olist is a benchmark startup in e-commerce solutions for small and medium-sized businesses, focused on operational management, increased competitiveness in marketplaces and multichannel sales. In 2021, the company acquired Tiny e Vnda, companies based on high technology that offer top-notch services and share the same goal of...

INNOVATE® Nashville

EXTREMIS

ON THE SPECTRUM

“Imagine a world where everything that can be connected will be connected – where driverless cars talk to smart transportation networks and where sensors can monitor your health and transmit data to your doctor. That’s a snapshot of what the 5g world will look like.” – Ajit Pai, Former FCC...

Global Innovation Spotlight

Sticker Builder

Unlocking the Next Frontier

“Mass customization made simple. Creative chaos made scalable.” In today’s experience-driven economy, personalization isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s the foundation of competitive advantage. Customers expect more than just products; they want creative control, self-expression, and seamless experiences. That’s where Sticker Builder by Antigro Designer, based in Kraków, Poland, comes in. This...

INNOVATE® Nashville

Schneider Electric

Global Industrial Energy Technology Leader

Schneider Electric is a global industrial energy technology leader bringing world-leading expertise in electrification, automation and digitalization to smart industries, resilient infrastructure, future-proof data centers, intelligent buildings, and intuitive homes. Anchored by deep domain expertise, the company provides integrated end-to-end lifecycle AI-enabled Industrial IoT solutions with connected products, automation, software,...

INNOVATE™ Alberta

GLENROSE HOSPITAL FOUNDATION

REIMAGINING HUMAN ABILITY

THE GLENROSE REHABILITATION HOSPITAL (GRH)The Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital (GRH) is the largest free-standing, comprehensive tertiary rehabilitation hospital in Canada, serving patients of all ages who require complex rehabilitation to enable them to participate in life to the fullest. The 244-bed facility provides specialized physical rehabilitation and therapeutic services across 16...

INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports

ULTRA

ULTRA-GAMERS HAVE WANTED TO DO MORE WHILE GAMING. NOW THEY CAN.

GAMERS HAVE WANTED TO DO MORE WHILE GAMING. NOW THEY CAN.

READY PLAYER ONE“What if I actually owned my digital games and in-game items?” That’s been the question on most gamers’ minds.   With limited solutions and some gamers resorting to the shady secondhand grey market to make use of their content outside of the game, David Hanson and Nicolas Gilot,...

INNOVATE® Jacksonville

ITG Technologies

ITG Technologies-Provides Innovative Data-Driven Technology Solutions

Provides Innovative Data-Driven Technology Solutions

ITG is a digital transformation company providing state of the art technology solutions to fortune 500 enterprises in the greater southeast corridor of the US. With over 100 years of combined experience and a skilled staff of automation & software engineers, ITG is able to provide innovative data-driven technology solutions...

INNOVATE™ Bristol & Bath

BRISTOL HEALTH PARTNERS

BRISTOL HEALTH PARTNERS-Bringing Together The Best In Research And Innovation To Improve Health And Care Across Bristol

Bringing Together The Best In Research And Innovation To Improve Health And Care Across Bristol, North Somerset And South Gloucestershire

The Bristol Health Partners Academic Health Science Centre (AHSC) mission is to generate significant health gain and improvements in service delivery in the region by integrating, promoting and developing our strengths in health services, research, innovation and education. We are a strategic collaboration between the city region’s universities, major health...

INNOVATION Quebec

THE CENTER FOR FOREST RESEARCH (CFR)

THE CENTER FOR FOREST RESEARCH (CFR) – IS A STRATEGIC CLUSTER THAT HAS BEEN FUNDEDBY THE FONDS DE RECHERCHE DU QUÉBEC-NATURE ET TECHNOLOGIES (FRQNT) SINCE 2006. It is the only research group in Quebec whose central mission is advanced training in forest research. The scientific mission of the CFR is...

INNOVATION Quebec

Université de Sherbrooke

Innovation runs deep in the DNA of the Université de Sherbrooke. To innovate, it dares to think differently and builds on its culture of partnerships. Since its creation, UdeS has closely collaborated with the business, industrial and community sectors. Today, this proximity makes UdeS a key partner that organizations naturally...

INNOVATE® Seattle

Madrona

A PARTNER AND BACKER OF FOUNDERS AT THE INNOVATION, EARLY AND ACCELERATION STAGES

A PARTNER AND BACKER OF FOUNDERS AT THE INNOVATION, EARLY AND ACCELERATION STAGES. Madrona starts working with leadership teams before the first investment, supporting them with capital and hard work. We have been doing this since 1995 and actively invest in AI, enterprise technology, marketplaces, and more. As the tech...

INNOVATE™ Estonia

B.EST SOLUTIONS

REDEFINING SECURE DIGITAL IDENTITY WHILE STRENGTHENING LOCAL ECOSYSTEMS

Can a digital state be built from scratch with external expertise and support? B.EST Solutions has spent the past 15 years proving that it can. Founded with the mission of adapting Estonia’s pioneering digital state experience to new contexts, the company has become a trusted developer and operator of national...

INNOVATE™ Flanders

KNAPP

MAKING COMPLEXITY SIMPLE INNOVATION AND KNAPP ARE INSEPARABLY LINKED

In a world where everything is constantly changing, strong values and trust matter. Partnerships matter. The KNAPP Group provides intelligent logistics solutions for data-driven value chains, uniting technological know-how with its long-established experience in diverse industries. KNAPP brings new technology to warehouse logistics, working with its customers globally to develop...

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...

Ecosystems