CANADA, (March 10, 2022) – The Ocean Startup Project, a national organization making Canada the best place to start and grow an ocean venture, has opened applications for its first-ever Ocean Idea Challenge. The competition connects aspiring entrepreneurs with potential co-founders, and encourages them to identify an ocean sustainability program, then validate their proposed solution for a chance to win up to $10,000. 

CANADA, (February 23, 2022) – The Ocean Startup Project, a national organization making Canada the best place to start and grow an ocean venture, has opened applications for the third cohort of its Lab2Market Oceans program. The seven-week program fosters an innovative and entrepreneurial mindset in postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and faculty, inspiring teams to explore their ocean research idea in a new way and identify commercial opportunities.

HALIFAX, November 5, 2020 – Seventeen teams from three universities have graduated from the first-ever Lab2Market Oceans cohort. Beginning mid-September, the teams spent seven weeks taking virtual training to learn techniques to assess their research and ways to move it out of university laboratories.

ST JOHN’S, NL (September 21, 2021) – The Ocean Startup Project announces 22 new teams kicking off year two of the Lab2Market Oceans program in 2021. Lab2Market Oceans teams are made up of researchers from academic institutions across Canada, faculty supervisors and industry mentors. The teams will work closely with a group of instructors who will provide feedback and coaching as they undertake the seven week program. 

HALIFAX, NS (March 30, 2021) – The Ocean Startup Project has launched its second Ocean Startup Challenge. Up from last year’s $350,000 in prize money, the 2021 edition of the competition will award up to $1.4 million to ocean innovators and entrepreneurs from rural, Indigenous and urban communities, across Canada and internationally. 

HALIFAX, September 30, 2020 – The first-ever Ocean Startup Challenge has awarded 14 startup companies with $25,000 each to help the companies advance their technologies and increase market adoption. They will also receive industry support, including coaching from an Executive in Residence. The companies were among 31 shortlisted to attend online bootcamps, receive one-on-one coaching and pitch to the Ocean Startup Challenge final judging panel last week.

HALIFAX, NS (September 8, 2020) – After 158 applications flooded in for the Ocean Startup Challenge, the industry reviewers have shortlisted 31 companies to vie for 10 prizes of $25,000 and in-kind support from partners. 

WOC and Canada’s Ocean Supercluster “Ocean Startup Project” Team Up to Engage Ocean Solution Providers

Canada’s Ocean Supercluster “Ocean Startup Project” and the World Ocean Council (WOC) are collaborating to broaden the search for problem-solvers to take part in the Ocean Startup Challenge – applications close on 14 August.

The Ocean Startup Challenge is one of the newest leaders in the growing ecosystem of ocean-related incubators, accelerators and challenge competitions that the WOC is working to connect through the “Global Blue Economy Innovation Initiatives Network”. The network fosters and facilitates the sharing of best practices, improved communication and opportunities for coordination, synergies and developing economies of scale among the initiatives.