IO-Report: Summer 2016

Aug 5, 2016

The summer is finally here and although it’s the perfect time for vacationing and lounging by the beach, the Ottawa ecosystem never takes a day off!  Here are a few of our highlights from the past months:

AccelerateOTT

More than 400 people gathered in the Horticulture Building at Lansdowne for our fifth annual AccelerateOTT. The tuned-in insight paired with the sunny skies and unbeatable company made for the perfect day, and we dare say that it was our best AccelerateOTT yet!

We’re looking forward to coming back next year bigger and better than ever! Thank you again to all speakers and sponsors; as well as anyone that came out, shook hands, and exchanged business cards.  We couldn’t have done it without you.

ICBY Announcement

All levels of government were present June 15th as the honorable Navdeep Bains announced the federal injection of $8 million into the Innovation Centre at Bayview Yards. The money, an addition to the $30 million already invested by the Province and the City of Ottawa, will be used to develop key programs and resources within the building.

“The Government of Canada is focused on supporting businesses to obtain the tools they need to succeed. We are doing this by investing in smart, collaborative partnerships that fuel growth. This project will open doors for a number of small and medium-sized businesses in high-growth sectors, and will lead to the development of innovative products and technologies here in our Nation’s capital,” says Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development

ICBY Announcement

Federal, Provincial, and Municipal Representatives in front of the future Innovation Centre

 

Come fall 2016, the site will be the new home for Invest Ottawa and will act as an entrepreneurial hub for the Ottawa region. It is expected to engage over 1200 businesses within the city, assisting them to grow and develop their products, as well as create over 280 jobs within the capital.

#HUSTLESHUTTLE

Invest Ottawa was front and center at this year’s International Startup Festival, as thousands gathered to network and showcase the future of innovation. More than two dozen Ottawa startups ferried down on the #HustleShuttle to join the festivities and feature their business within the IO tent.

Our ambassadors were peppered with questions regarding Ottawa’s ecosystem and how we can help grow their company. The event was a smashing success with more people  beginning to understand that Ottawa- home to more than 1000 startups and 68,000 tech workers- is a key player in the innovation economy.

#WhyOttawa Chalk Campaign20160630_113749_resized

If you walked through the streets of Ottawa over Canada Day Weekend, it was hard not to miss some great facts about our Nation’s Capital, pulled from our very own #WhyOttawa presentation.

The stencils made a lot of buzz on social media and drove many people to our revamped WhyOttawa site. This mini-campaign was a precursor to the talent acquisition campaign we plan to launch in the coming months. The campaign will play a key role in helping Ottawa maintain its momentum in driving Ontario’s innovation economy.

Additional Initiatives 

Motorola Mission

In May, Invest Ottawa was host to Motorola Solutions executives on a cross-country mission to engage with the nation’s ecosystems. Delegates had a chance to meet with a number of local startups to explore prospects for investment, acquisition and business collaboration; and were privy to a roundtable discussion with local leaders, exploring the opportunities in the changing public safety and security landscape.

Connect With The Capital

In collaboration with the City, Invest Ottawa opened the doors for 60+ ambassadors and diplomats to “Connect With The Capital.” Representatives explored some of Ottawa’s top businesses and festival grounds and were provided with an overview of the roles and mandates of the city’s leading economic development agencies.

National Liberal Caucus Economic Panel

Invest Ottawa had the opportunity to participate on an economic panel discussion with the National Caucus on May 24th to outline the barriers to growth that challenge Ottawa businesses. Highlights included talent attraction, retention, and development, growing exports globally, and increasing engagement with the government.

Key Financing

Assent Compliance secured a $20 Million equity investment to expand operations into Manhattan, Britain, and the U.S. as well as to increasing their workforce by approximately 100 people over the course of 18 months.

Ottawa-based Graphite Software closed an oversubscribed $8 Million Series B Financing Round on June 16th to continue rapid growth in Mobile Device Market, expanding adoption of its Virtual Phone Technology into the Chinese market.

Embotics, a leading provider of multi-cloud management software for public and private cloud environments, announced on June 7th that Arrowroot Capital has invested $12.1 million of growth capital in the business.

In-Q-Tel, the venture capital firm backed by the CIA and other stealthy “three-letter agencies” is investing in Interset, a specialist in user behavior analytics.

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