In Vancouver, Canada, the winners of the 12th annual BCIC-New Ventures Competition were announced on September 26. The BCIC sponsored event had an initial 146 applicants who went head to head for six months at the end of which the top companies are selected. A total of $235,000 in prize money was awarded to the winners with the top spot taking $100,000.
John Jacobson, the President and CEO of BCIC was upbeat about the results and stated, “Congratulations to all 15 finalists for advancing to the final round of this year’s BCIC-New Ventures Competition. These companies join an impressive list of more than 1500 program alumni over 12 years of competition, including 140 winners who have raised $112 million in financing and created over 650 jobs for British Columbians. We look forward to seeing these businesses grow and continue to contribute to BC’s economy.”
The BCIC is a Crown Agency of the Province of British Columbia and is tasked with creating programs that will promote technology and in turn create jobs in BC. The BCIC-New Ventures Competition is one of these programs and has been active since 2001 and is run by the non-profit New Ventures BC Society.
Bob de Wit, Executive Director of the New Ventures BC Society, stated at the venue, “Each year our jury is extremely impressed with the quality of companies that enter the competition, and this year was no exception. We know that all of our finalists can look forward to great business success in the future, and we take pride in the fact that the educational series, events and mentorship that we have provided them during the competition will contribute to that success.”
Winners of the 2012 BCIC-New Ventures Competition include:
$100,000 BCIC first-prize and $10,000 Plug and Play Tech Centre prize – MediaCore Technologies Inc.
MediaCore has developed an online video learning platform that utilizes the cloud to deliver programs for students in K-12, universities and also corporations.
$55,000 BCIC second-prize – NaviDent Technologies Inc.
NaviDent Technologies works with leading technologies to create procedures that make dental implants easier and more accurate.
$35,000 BCIC third-prize – MyBestHelper Solutions Inc.
MyBestHelper is service to locate and hire child care specialists.
$20,000 BC Bioenergy Network prize – Mazza Innovation Ltd.
$15,000 Vancity Social Venture prize – Twothirds Water Inc.
Source: MarketWire
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