A new national program that will provide loans, mentorship and other services to Black entrepreneurs has been launched by the federal government.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced funding of nearly $221 million. The federal government will provide almost $93 million over the next four years, and the rest of the funds will come fom eight Canadian financial institutions. 

“The

Halifax-based Nexus Robotics has received $550,000 in funding from the federal government to help it bring its weed-picking robot to the market next year.

The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency announced the funding on Wednesday, saying it has helped the company hire an experienced CEO and carry out ongoing field tests.

“The Nexus Robotics team is very appreciative to receive funding from

Five months after COVID-19 sparked a medical manufacturing collaboration between companies, government and academia, Enginuity’s Alastair Trower sees an opportunity for Canada to permanently strengthen its medical supply chains.

In March, as governments began struggling to source face masks, medical gowns and other supplies, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency organized a phone call with

As part of our 2020 Ecosystem Roadmap, we’re drawing up a list of new programs in the Atlantic Canadian Ecosystem, and would love to learn about any we've missed.

These could be accelerators, funding programs or other initiatives to support startups or scaleups in the region. They must be designed for innovation-driven enterprises that are targeting a global market.

This is an odd year because

Entrevestor will launch its 2019 Atlantic Canada Startup Data report on Sept. 24 with a lunch-and-learn session at Volta, which will also be available through Zoom.

Entrevestor’s data has become the benchmark for the Atlantic Canadian startup community in recent years. Each year, we tally up the total number of startups, and assess their employees, funding and revenue, providing a vivid picture

Truro-based Ocean Sonics, a maker of equipment that listens to and monitors the oceans, has launched a west coast operation called Ocean Sonics Pacific.

In a statement, the company said the new venture will facilitate real-time listening on Canada’s West Coast. The work will be headed by Ken Brough, a veteran of Vancouver’s tech sector.

The company makes the icListen Smart Hydrophone. which it

Milk Moovement, which helps the dairy industry track milk shipments, is one of 11 companies (and the only Canadian startup) in the 2020 cohort of Techstars' main food tech accelerator.

The international accelerator group announced Tuesday that Milk Moovement has been accepted into the Techstars Farm to Fork Accelerator, which will run until its Demo Day in December.

“Looks like the cow is out

The Ocean Startup Challenge, which aims to provide 10 oceantech companies with $25,000 each plus in-kind services, has produced a shortlist of 31 companies from across Canada and the U.S.

The competition was launched by the Ocean Startup Project, part of Canada’s Ocean Supercluster, in June to encourage the development of more early-stage companies developing nautical technology. The shortlisted

Regional health and life sciences companies are invited to present their solutions for improving the mental health and wellness of Nova Scotians during the second Health Challenge Pitch Event.

Participants will compete for a $100,000 prize and an opportunity to launch their product in collaboration with Nova Scotia Health.

This is the second Health Challenge Pitch Event and is presented by

Our first Jobs of the Week column of the autumn showcases openings at three Halifax-area companies: a Senior Program Manager at Innovasea, a Product Marketing Associate at Dash Hudson and a Senior Software Engineer at Adaptiiv Medical Technologies.

Dash Hudson is a visual marketing Software-as-a-Service company that helps its clients increase engagement on their social media. Its software,