By: Dr. Paula Mendonça (she/her) Executive Director, Ocean Startup Project
Our collective vision for Canada’s ocean economy is a bold one; reaching a target of 5x growth by 2035. This will require innovative solutions from companies of every size, including startups who are working to rethink how we can create a more sustainable future. As the Ocean Startup Project launches into Phase Three, we are excited to celebrate our founders’ remarkable achievements and look ahead to the impact emerging companies will have.
It wasn’t long ago that innovation and tech ecosystem leaders from across the Atlantic provinces met to discuss how to best collaborate and support ocean startups. They recognized that generating more ocean technology startups could significantly contribute to Canada’s ocean economy and the broader international blue economy. This understanding combined with a willingness to collaborate led to the Ocean Startup Project’s creation in 2020, launched as an initiative under Canada’s Ocean Supercluster. Our original partners included Genesis in Newfoundland and Labrador, Springboard Atlantic and Invest Nova Scotia (then Innovacorp), Prince Edward Island BioAlliance, New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, Creative Destruction Lab and federal and provincial governments. Our mandate was clear and continues to be: we’re making Canada the best place in the world to start and grow an ocean company.
I was thrilled to be brought into the Project to work with the previous executive director and the team in the early days as new initiatives and programs were rapidly developed and launched (in the midst of a global pandemic nonetheless). Now as the new executive director, I have the pleasure of working even closer with these incredibly knowledgeable individuals who are truly committed to the success of early-stage ocean innovators.
Canada’s ocean startup ecosystem quickly gained impressive momentum and in 2022, we expanded our focus from pan-Atlantic to national to support more ocean innovators across the country. We welcomed new partners, British Columbia-based Centre for Ocean Applied Sustainable Technologies (COAST) and Quebec-based Technopole Maritime du Quebec (TMQ).
We’ve also seen various ocean-focused organizations and hubs emerge across the country. The increasing support for ocean innovation is a strong signal that ocean startups and the sustainable technologies they are developing have an increasingly important role in mitigating the impact of climate change, improving ocean health, and of course, in building Canada’s ocean economy.
We measure our success by the achievements of our startups and in just four years, we have incredible stories from the 184 startup teams we have supported. We’ve seen companies such as On Deck Fisheries (BC), CORSphere (NL), Scient (NS) and Coastal Carbon (ON) use AI for sustainable ocean growth and receive significant Canada’s Ocean Supercluster funding.
Our startups have raised more than $20 million, created more than 375 jobs, participated in various national and international accelerator programs, and emerged as leaders in the ocean sector, inspiring the next generation of ocean startup innovators.
As we look to the future, our vision remains bold: Canada is and will continue to be the best place to start and grow an ocean startup. With the world’s longest coastlines, we have unparalleled access to our beautiful waters. Our partners from across the country are committed to supporting our work and collaborating to create programs and initiatives that ensure our ocean startup ecosystem is connected, thrives and becomes self-sustaining. This will enable us all, around the world, to reap the benefits of the innovative work being done by ocean startups now and in the future.
Thank you to our partners, early-stage founders, and all involved in this journey. Together, we are making waves in the ocean tech industry. Let’s continue to push boundaries and innovate for a sustainable future.