According to a report from Entrevestor, seven new technology companies in Cape Breton have been awarded a total $225,000 as part of the 2016 Spark Cape Breton Innovation Challenge led by Innovacorp and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.
The Spark competition is designed to provide early stage companies in Cape Breton and the Mulgrave region with seed capital to help them grow. The funds, which range from $20,000 to $45,000 per company depending on its needs and potential, will be used to help companies complete their prototypes or prepare to take their products and services to the market. The seven companies will also receive mentoring from expert business people through Cape Breton’s MentorConnect program.
Winning companies have products and services that include mobile applications, web-based software, consumer goods, and others.
The winners of this year’s challenge included the following:
Advocative Cognitive Technologies ($45,000)
Arista Data Solutions ($45,000)
Digital Diesel Industries ($20,000)
Geter Done Applications ($30,000)
The Instant Chaga Tea Company ($20,000)
Perata Data Systems ($20,000)
Punch Club ($45,000)
This was the fourth year for the Spark competition. A total of 25 companies entered the competition, of which 10 were selected to pitch to a panel of judges.