Innovacorp’s I-3 Technology Start-Up Competition has received 188 submissions for its 2015-16 event. Though it was fewer applications than the last time the contest was held, the organizers said they’re pleased with the number – and especially the quality – of the applications.

Innovacorp, the Nova Scotia innovation agency, holds the competition every second year with the goal of encouraging aspiring entrepreneurs to develop their ideas into businesses as they go through the contest. The process includes feedback from Innovacorp and a range of judges, various mentoring events and a challenging program to separate the wheat from the chaff.

The agency said in a statement received 228 submissions in 2013-14, and it said the emphasis this year is on quality. Innovacorp this year allowed people to make preliminary submissions a week before the Oct. 15 deadline to receive feedback and 90 people took advantage of it.

“We’d much rather have the quality we’re seeing this year than a higher number (of submissions),” said CEO Stephen Duff in an interview.

The I-3 competition is divided into five regions and the only region that showed an increase in entrants was the South Shore, where the number rose to 23 from 22. (It’s a strong showing, given there were only six entrants in the region in 2011-12.)

The Halifax area once again accounted for the largest intake with 103 submissions, down from 110 two years ago.

In the other regions, the number of submissions in the Annapolis Valley was 22 (compared with 45 in 2013-14), in Northern Mainland was 14 (compared with 23) and in Cape Breton was 26 (compared with 28).

The next announcement in the competition will come on Nov. 2, when the shortlists for each region and the six sectoral competitions are announced.