Propel ICT Launches Into Another Year
It’s time for Atlantic Canada’s entrepreneurs to propel themselves into the region’s startup world.
Applications for Propel ICT‘s Launch and Build programs close this month, and the team is getting ready for an even more successful year. The programs – the former for early startups and the latter for more established ones – were launched last year to much success with 33 startups participating.
This year Propel ICT plans to build on that and expand their offerings.
“In the last couple of months, we’ve revamped the program,” said Propel ICT vice president Gillian McCrae. “In addition to the program we have experts who are going to be coming in and delivering workshops for the companies inside their region.”
This year Propel ICT also plans to host a pan-Atlantic event (details to be released soon), where the entire cohort, along with alumni, will squeeze into one room for two days to hear from startup experts from outside Atlantic Canada on specialized topics.
The organization has also updated its mentorship program.
“A lot of things are going to be new this year, but they’ve been tried and tested,” McCrae said.
In order to support expanding their offerings, Propel ICT needed to expand its team.
Peter Gifford helped Propel get set up in Newfoundland last year. They liked him so much, they decided to keep him as entrepreneur in residence.
“We ended up getting him full-time, so we’re building out our own internal team in order to support our expansion plans,” McCrae said.
This year Propel ICT will be expanding again into Prince Edward Island. McCrae said the startup scene in the province is in its early stages and they’re looking forward to helping it grow.
“There’s startups who’ve inquired because they wanted to know ‘when’s the programming going to be delivered?’ There was demand,” she said.
McCrae said there’s been a lot of support from government and other organizations in the province to start building the Island’s startup ecosystem.
“There’s a lot of excitement. There’s a lot of support, and there’s a lot of people that are coming together to support and flourish that ecosystem,” McCrae said.
“We’re coming in at the right time. It’s early and we’re all working together to ensure that the companies at the end of the day get the best experience and they’re on the right footing.”
Deadline to apply for Launch and Build is Jan. 15.