Nova Scotia founders are invited to apply to Spark Nova Scotia, the contest for rural and coastal high-potential, knowledge-based businesses.

The contest is run in three regions — Cape Breton, North, and Southwest — and offers winners up to $50,000. Each geographical region functions independently, with its own applicant pool and local judges.

Spark NS also offers a pre-application training program which runs free online over three weeks starting April 28. The five modules cover business model fundamentals: finance; pitch preparation; and intellectual property basics. Sessions run from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m.

The training schedule is as follows:

Tuesday, April 28: Developing Your Idea While Managing Risks
Thursday, April 30: Business Model Canvas Intro
Tuesday, May 5: Finance Fundamentals
Thursday, May 7: Storytelling and Presenting
Tuesday, May 12: Intellectual Property 101

The contest application deadline is Friday, May 15 at 11:59 p.m.

Training registration and competition applications can be found here.