[Press Release] The pre-incubator AquaHacking expands its network across Canada
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Montreal, Québec, November 25, 2019 – AquaHacking, the Montreal-based pre-incubator entirely dedicated to finding solutions to water issues through technology and entrepreneurship, is expanding across Canada in its 2020 edition. After five consecutive years with focus on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River, the non-profit organization is targeting three other Canadian regions: British Columbia, Lake Winnipeg, and Atlantic Canada. Thanks to the success of past initiatives and the support of partners such as the RBC Foundation, AquaHacking has already begun the first of the three Challenges, in British Columbia, and is preparing to launch the the other two as of January 2020. The three regional Challenges will conclude with the grand national Final to be held in the fall of 2020 in Montreal.
“Since the beginning, AquaHacking has been based in Montreal, a city that is known for its innovation and its concern for the environment. Continuing to hold the national Final here, in Montreal, was meaningful to us and we are pleased and proud that AquaHacking is associated with the City, and would be honoured to contribute to the reputation and influence of our city. Some teams even had success in securing contracts working with the City following the competition,” said Nan-b de Gaspé Beaubien, Co-President of the de Gaspé Beaubien Foundation and the initiator of AquaHacking. “It’s by empowering future generations and giving them a voice that we prepare them for a better tomorrow,” she adds.
“At RBC, we believe in the power of innovative technologies to address and scale solutions to some of the most pressing environmental issues of our time,” said Valerie Chort, vice-president corporate citizenship RBC. “We’re proud to be working alongside Aqua Forum and the AquaHacking Challenge to develop real-world, scalable solutions to tackle the challenges that continue to plague our environment.”
“I am pleased with the success of the AquaHacking initiative in Montreal, whose innovative approach will now be deployed across Canada. As privileged players in socio-economic development, entrepreneurs play a vital role in Montreal’s identity. In the context of the climate emergency, AquaHacking’s approach is highly relevant and makes it possible to develop solutions for the sustainable management of water, an issue of concern to the City of Montreal. We will be delighted to host the pan-Canadian Challenge Final event in the fall of 2020,” says the Mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante.
In 2019, over 180 young innovators participated and six new companies were created following the Challenge. Of these six start-ups, four are based in Montreal. More than $55,000 was distributed to finance the finalists’ projects: The Green Step (mobile high-efficiency water refill stations for outdoor music festivals and other events), Clean Nature (optimizing road salt management systems using artificial intelligence), CLIN (capturing microplastics emitted in the air from domestic clothes dryers), Bello Solutions (intelligent drinking water fountains), and Droplets (interactive mapping of drinking water fountains and awareness-building).
AquaHacking is a springboard for the development of water technologies and youth engagement throughout North America and, perhaps soon, throughout the globe.
About the AquaHacking Challenge
The AquaHacking Challenge is a pre-incubator for startups and water technologies, powered by the RBC Foundation, supported by the de Gaspé Beaubien Foundation and other partners such as IBM Canada, GHD, Keurig, Ovivo, Sanexen, the City of Montreal, and Ontario Power Generation.
The pre-incubator accompanies the participants over the seven months during which the competition takes place through workshops, technical and business mentoring, and financial support for the finalists.
aquahacking.com/en/
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For more information
Catherine Moreau
514-700-5550, ext 552
cmoreau@mercureconseil.ca