Stories of Innovation

Our vision: To have an attractive Montréal startup ecosystem that is internationally recognized for its performance, diversity, and impact. Our activities are based on five pillars that guide the development of our projects and programs. We are working to make the ecosystem increasingly accessible, collaborative, diverse, and impactful, and to...

500 Startups is a venture capital firm on a mission to discover and back the world’s most talented entrepreneurs, help them create successful companies at scale, and build thriving global ecosystems. It is one of the most active venture capital firms in the world. Ana Paula Gonzalez, Innovation & Partnerships...

Founders Live is a global ecosystem for early-stage founders, startups, and entrepreneurs. They are on a mission to elevate entrepreneurship around the world, connecting entrepreneurs to the people, resources, capital, and exposure they need to truly become successful. The vast (and quickly growing) global platform, spanning 120 cities across more...

Located in Graniteville, South Carolina, just off Interstate 20, Rolls-Royce’s mtu Aiken plant stands as a beacon of advanced manufacturing, workforce development, community commitment and clean energy leadership. Since opening its doors in 2010, the facility has grown from a promising assembly plant to a cornerstone of innovation, producing and...

FoundersBoost Toronto is the city’s only 100% free, not-for-profit preaccelerator program for early-stage founders. We are a volunteer-only organization that runs six-week boot camps that prepare founders for accelerators, investment, and revenue. We take no equity and charge no fees from any of our startups. FoundersBoost Toronto is led by...

Thrive Health is a digital healthcare platform company, founded in 2016 with a mission to make healthcare work better for everyone. The company provides an interactive patient engagement solution that enables healthcare providers to build custom clinical workflows, and offers patients enhanced access to their health data. Thrive Health’s innovative...

Le Cteau (Centre des technologies de l’eau) y consacre tous ses efforts depuis 2008 en tant que seul centre de transfert technologique dédié aux technologies de l’eau et à la gestion écologique de la ressource. Son équipe interdisciplinaire comprend notamment des microbiologistes, des chimistes, des ingénieurs (génie de l’eau, civil,...

GO ON ASSOCIATED- IS A CONSULTING COMPANY FOCUSED ON PROVIDINGBUSINESS MANAGEMENT SUPPORT SOLUTIONS WITH EXCELLENCE,THROUGH DEEP BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OFINNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS. Founded in 2015 in Curitiba, Go On Associated is an IT consultancy focused on providing business management solutions through digital transformation. With a track record of...

With 100% of its public services digitalized and a streamlined, business-friendly environment, Estonia has established itself as a strategic destination for those looking to expand their business, launch operations, or work in the European Union. Internationally recognised as the world’s most digital nation, Estonia promotes initiatives such as e-Residency to...

Don’t tell anyone, but Tartu is like a Steve Jobs’ garage for business. If you have innovative ideas or want to be part of the next great venture, Tartu is the place to be. It is a city that supports innovations with an effective ecosystem, a savvy talent pool, and...

What started in 2003 as a mother’s vision to change the world’s perception of individuals with Down syndrome and create opportunities for her daughter, GiGi, evolved into a global movement of acceptance for all. GiGi’s Playhouse started in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, and has catapulted to an entrepreneurial network of 60...

Acclaim will serve as a Virtual Business Environment (VBE) for all small businesses globally. The idea is to take small businesses to the internet and be able to create virtual offices, stalls, and markets which are manageable. This innovation was inspired by the digital transformation of the economy and the...

Guidées par la volonté de contribuer à l’accélération de la transition énergétique et à la réduction de l’empreinte environnementale au sein des milieux urbains, industriels et portuaires, les villes de Bécancour, Shawinigan et TroisRivières ainsi que l’Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières ont unis leurs forces. Ainsi, est née la zone...

18Loop deploys advanced virtual reality (VR) headsets to kids with cancer to help them tolerate treatment, recover and thrive. 18Loop has distributed over 100 VR headsets to children with cancer in 32 states.18Loop reaches its children through a partnership with the American Childhood Cancer Organization (ACCO). Virtual reality is vital...

New Brunswick Development Corporation (Devco) was established in 1976 as a nonprofit development company to initiate redevelopment projects and to serve as the vehicle for public and private investment in the City of New Brunswick. Under the leadership of Christopher Paladino, DEVCO has initiated, developed, and managed 8.3 million square...

Building Resilience Builds CompetitivenessWesgro is the official tourism, trade, investment and film promotion agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape. It serves as the first point of contact for foreign investors and local companies. In addition, this agency attracts and facilitates national and international investment, works to grow the...

EUROPE’S FIRST INTEGRATED CREDIT INFRASTRUCTURE Mifundo provides European banks with cross-border credit data that allows consumer credit histories to move between countries. This technology removes one of the last remaining barriers to financial mobility in the European Union: fragmented data locked within national borders. For millions of people who live,...

GRT Pro Flipper is a brand-new Mobile Trampoline Simulator that takes trampoline to the next level. All other trampoline-based apps on the App stores are based on simpler 2D gameplay that does not truly match what a trampolinist actually does in the air at the Olympics. Developed by the Freestyle...

In Canada, it is common to see layers of support for life sciences companies up to and including the incubator stage, right before commercialization occurs. But support drops off drastically when companies are ready to commercialize and take their most significant risks and leaps. It takes capital and multiple fundraising...

In 2003, Carey Pachla joined Fast Switch, Ltd.; essentially, a start-up at the time. Over 16 years, she built the division she started into a best-in-class and purpose-driven organization with hundreds of team members servicing multiple organizations, which range in size from Fortune Top 10 to mid-size and start-up organizations....

Kudoti was founded in 2019, offering a tailored solution based on our clients sustainability goals and offers an end-to-end solution from developing strategy with our clients, implementation thereof, and right through to tracking and tracing and reporting, enabling brands to become fully circular through real-time data. Unlike solutions from outside...

Honest Chocolate was founded in 2010 by two friends Anthony Gird and Michael de Klerk. When they couldn’t find high quality, locally made chocolate on the retail shelf they decided to start making their own. When their friends couldn’t get enough of these homemade treats, Anthony and Michael realised there...

Scheduling and moving labor across construction projects sounds simple. But in reality, that couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s a never-ending process that’s nigh impossible to do accurately, efficiently and indefinitely. To make this less of a hurdle, RIVET Work Inc. (RIVET) created a Workforce Management platform tailor-made for...

Rachel and Siya Kolisi founded the Kolisi Foundation with this belief in mind: it is through the power of listening that positive change can happen in South Africa. We need to listen to what people dealing with challenging circumstances really need. We need to listen to the people already working...