With Atlantic Canadian companies making up one-quarter of its latest cohort, the Canadian Technology Accelerator in London is hoping for even more applications from the East Coast in the future.
The Trade Commissioner Service in the British capital is now hosting an eight-week accelerator for fintech companies. The eight participants include Saint John-based Four Eyes Financial, which makes regulatory compliance software for wealth management businesses, and Charlottetown-based PayTic, whose product streamlines the back-office operations of payment companies.
The Service, part of Global Affairs Canada, started the Canadian Technology Accelerator, or CTA, program about a decade ago in Silicon Valley to help Canadian startups raise capital and break into foreign markets. The programs are now offered at 12 hubs around the world. In London, each cohort of the CTA targets specific groups, such as the current fintech cohort or previous offerings of digital health or digital energy solutions.
“It’s a program that’s really aimed at companies that are in full commercialization mode . . . and companies that are highly scalable,” said Claudio Ramirez, the Manager of the CTA, during an interview at Canada House on Trafalgar Square.
“The DNA of the CTA program is really to generate sales. We think sales are the best way to raise capital and that’s because you’re raising money without diluting the equity in your company.”
While Ramirez and others want to receive more applications from Atlantic Canadian companies, the region has been well represented in recent cohorts. The participants from the East Coast include:
- Liveable Cities (a division of LED Roadway Lighting), Halifax, which is adding sensors and IoT technology to lighting systems to improve the efficiency of municipal infrastructure;
- Nu:Ionic, Fredericton, which is developing a proprietary method of generating hydrogen from natural gas, biogas, methanol or renewable ammonia;
- Kognitiv Spark, Fredericton, which uses mixed reality systems to improve efficiency in industrial workplaces;
- Mobia Health Innovations, Halifax, which sells software for cardiologists, ER doctors and medical offices for triage and scheduling;
- And PragmaClin, St. John’s, which uses depth-sensing cameras and a proprietary algorithm to perform remote medical assessments of people with movement disorders.
The eight-week course comprises two phases. The first phase is virtual, with participants learning about the U.K. market, including regulations and IP laws. During this phase the participants are partnered with a few mentors who can help them navigate the British market. The second phase consists of a one-week visit to the market where cohort members are given the opportunity to pitch, to have B2B meetings and to network with potential clients and partners.
Ramirez said the Canadian companies aiming to do business in London are at a disadvantage to their British competitors, who already understand the U.K. market. So the program is designed to help “level the playing field” by helping the Canucks make contacts in the new environment.
Canadian startups tend to focus on the U.S. as their major export market because of size and proximity, and the London CTA can help them break into a new market.
“It’s difficult for a startup in particular to maintain a focus on more than one market,” said Ramirez. “The U.K. tends to be the second market that people focus on. For Atlantic Canadian companies it has special appeal because there is a direct air link.”
