Ocean Startup Project Thrives Through Pandemic
HALIFAX–The pandemic did not slow the stride of the Atlantic Canadian agency mandated to help ocean startups get their products to market.
The Halifax-based Ocean Startup Project (OSP) announced it provided $1.4-million to 40 burgeoning ocean startups, hosted more than 20 events, and provided more than 30 founders connections to more funding, partnerships, and growth opportunities through the Creative Destruction Lab and Lab2Market Oceans mentoring project.
OSP Executive Director Don Grant said the program has provided financial support and guidance to startups across a gamut of sectors in the ocean industry.
“We’ve got so many companies doing such interesting things in so many different areas. We’ve got aquaculture companies that are going to have breakthroughs and some seaweed companies doing interesting things, and data companies we’re excited about, because ocean data is such an important part of this larger puzzle around sustainability, protecting and ensuring our oceans are healthy in the years to come,” said Grant.
“There’s a lot of emerging awareness and engagement in the huge opportunities in the ocean sector.”
Grant told Huddle the aim is to produce healthy, sustainable ocean tech companies that can develop quality products and healthy revenue while ensuring the health of the ocean.
Kady Leard, the marketing and communications coordinator with the Ocean Startup Project, said OSP’s ace in the hole during the economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic was similar to that of many businesses: its ability to pivot into the virtual world.
“We were pretty accustomed to the Zoom life and doing things virtually, so we just brought our events online and connected with founders there,” she said.
Although restrictions put a ceiling on OSP’s ability to host in-person events at multiple locations, it didn’t appreciably slow business; Leard noted the project saw some growth despite those slight slowdowns.
OSP recruited startups through its own virtual events and through others’ events, relying on getting the word out via newsletters and social media.
“We’re trying to connect companies with peers, mentors, and industry leaders. We’ve done sessions with different incubators and accelerators across Canada who were able to come and speak at our events,” Leard said.
“We’re the top of the pipeline; a stepping stone to get out there. We want to see companies graduate and get accepted into incubators.”
The Ocean Startup Project provides its support with funding from a combination of private organizations, government, and partners that include research group Springboard Atlantic, the non-profit Creative Destruction Lab, the Newfoundland-based innovation hub Genesis, Nova Scotian early-stage investment Crown corporation Innovacorp, the Prince Edward Island BioAlliance, the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, and Canada’s Ocean Supercluster.
“We’re excited about the momentum, from 2020 to 2021 and into 2022. We’re hoping for an explosion of interest from the groundwork we’ve laid so far along with the Supercluster, to raise awareness of the opportunities in the ocean sector,” said Grant.
Sam Macdonald is a Huddle reporter in Moncton. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].