A new startup competition in the OceanTech space is offering competitors cash prizes of as much as US$70,000 (C$87,5000) as well as access to the Chinese market.

Halifax is one of a handful of cities around the world that will host regional competitions for the 2017 Global Marine Technology Entrepreneurship Competition. These will be the entry points for the final competition in the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao in November. The winners will receive mentorship, cash and office space in China.

Entries for the Halifax competition close on Oct. 17. For more information about entering the competition, contact Carolyn Clegg at carolynclegg@gmail.com.

“The structure of the competition is open and done so on purpose to encompass a wide range of applicants,” said Stephen Jones, the CEO of Halifax-based 4Deep Inwater Imaging and the Executive Chair of the competition. “It could be companies of any size, individual entrepreneurs or savvy business students for example. There is also no set standard for the technological level of readiness so long as the innovation has broad commercial attractiveness.”

Hosted by Shandong University and Qingdao City, the competition is intended to be a pathway for entrepreneurs that want access to Chinese capital and markets.

There two themes in the competition -- Theme I is Marine Science and Technologies; and Theme II is Robotics, Life and Health Sciences, Smart Hardware, Artificial Intelligence, New Energy, Internet and Information Technology, Environmental Protection and others.

For the final competition, the prize money in each theme is: one first prize of US$70,000; two second prizes of US$43,000; and three third prizes of US$15,000 .

Regional contests will be held in Silicon Valley, Chicago and Boston in U.S.; Toronto and Halifax in Canada; as well as in other centres in England, Germany, France and China. There will also be an online competition.

Two winners from each region will be flown to Qingdao for the finals. The winners of the Halifax competition, which is Co-Sponsored by Dalhousie University, will receive pitch training from Andrew Ray of Innovacorp and Permjot Valia, CEO of MentorCamp, before traveling to China.

The Halifax pitching competition will be held Oct. 24 at the McInnes Cooper offices, Purdy’s Wharf II, in Halifax.

“I look forward to seeing the quality and breadth of entries and it is my hope that the selected winner form the Halifax event ends up going to Qingdao in November and winning the entire competition,” said Jones. “Doing so would represent a massive opportunity.”