First ever Canadian Corporate Innovation Summit brings together corporates and the innovation community
BDC launches new program to help Canada move the needle on innovation
TORONTO, April 11, 2017 /CNW Telbec/ - The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) will launch a new Corporate Innovation and Venturing Program at the Canadian Corporate Innovation Summit held in Toronto, April 11-13.
Canada's first ever Corporate Innovation Summit will connect global business leaders, international and Canadian executives, investors and government stakeholders to explore opportunities in corporate innovation and venturing. The summit is presented by BDC Capital and Global Corporate Venturing in collaboration with the Business Council of Canada.
"Canada has all the elements to be an innovation nation," says Michael Denham, President and CEO of the Business Development Bank of Canada. "It has one of the healthiest concentrations of high-quality research in the world and a very active national network of incubators, accelerators, and start-ups. Despite these competitive advantages, corporate R&D spending in Canada is less than half the average rate of other OECD countries and too little Canadian innovation is finding its path to market."
"GE Canada has contributed to and benefits from Canada's innovation culture," says Elyse Allan, Canadian Corporate Innovation Summit Co-Chair and President and CEO, GE Canada. "We value Canada's strong and growing innovator network and encourage companies of all sizes to engage with the robust innovation ecosystem across the country."
The Canadian Corporate Innovation Summit, April 11-13, 2017; Fairmont Royal York
- The summit will offer insights into how corporations can dramatically improve their ability to innovate;
- Speakers include leaders from prominent multinationals such as GE and Motorola that will describe best practices in corporate innovation and discuss case studies that led to accelerating innovation;
- Participants will learn concrete strategies to enhance their R & D efforts by leveraging the talents and technologies of small, agile and innovation-oriented companies;
- Opportunity to meet leaders from foreign companies that are looking to innovate in Canada and potentially create partnerships.
"There is no shortage of innovation in Canada – we're lucky to be very rich in that resource," says Tom Jenkins, Chair of OpenText Corporation and Co-Chair of the Canadian Corporate Innovation Summit. "Large companies just have to step outside their doors to find and benefit from it. But they have to decide to take that first step, and that's what we need to see more of."
BDC Corporate Innovation and Venturing Program
The new program aims to:
- Connect large Canadian corporates to innovators in a variety of ways;
- Raise awareness among Canadian corporates of the importance of innovation to their own success;
- Increase the number and intensity of Canadian corporates that engage with the innovation ecosystem as partners and co-investors;
- Introduce and engage international corporate VCs to Canada, with the goal of attracting their investment participation over time.
"BDC Capital created the Corporate Innovation and Venturing Program in an effort to help move the needle on corporate innovation," says Neal Hill, BDC Capital Vice President, Market Development. "This program will provide Canadian corporations with new ways to engage faster and more easily in the innovation ecosystem." The program will launch at the Canadian Corporate Innovation Summit and will mobilize Canadian corporates by creating opportunities to interact with start-ups, accelerators and venture funds.
Through the new Corporate Innovation and Venturing program, BDC will help corporate management teams define their needs and guide them to appropriate options across the ecosystem. The program will also include startup-to-corporate "collision days", access to accelerator-run corporate programs, VC fund-to-corporate interactions and best practice training in managing a corporate venture fund.
About BDC Capital
With more than $2 billion under management, BDC Capital is the investment arm of BDC, serving as a strategic partner to Canada's most innovative and high-potential firms. It offers a range of equity, venture capital and flexible growth and transition capital solutions to help Canadian entrepreneurs scale their businesses into global champions. To find out more, visit bdc.ca/capital.
About Global Corporate Venturing
Global Corporate Venturing is the media publication and data provider for the corporate venture capital industry. It has a unique database, GCV Analytics, to which numerous Fortune 1000 companies subscribe, and it runs multiple global events, with flagship conferences in Silicon Valley and London.
About the Business Council of Canada
The Business Council of Canada brings business leaders together to shape public policy in the interests of a stronger Canada and a better world. Founded in 1976, the Business Council is a non-profit, non-partisan organization composed of the chief executives of Canada's leading enterprises, representing companies from every region and sector of the economy. Through supply chain partnerships, service contracts and mentoring programs, Business Council members support many hundreds of thousands of small businesses and entrepreneurs in communities of all sizes across Canada.
SOURCE Business Development Bank of Canada
For further information: Maria Constantinescu, BDC, [email protected], 1-844-625-8321
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