Invest NS Made $3.2M of VC Deals in FY24

Invest Nova Scotia made $3.2 million of venture capital deals during the fiscal year that ended March 31, funding disclosures from the provincial economic development agency show.

The money was spread across seven deals, all but two of which involved companies based in Halifax, while the remainder are Cape Breton companies. These latest totals represent a marked decline from last year’s figure

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Dalhousie Receives Additional $10M for National Battery Hub

Dalhousie University will receive $10.15 million to establish a national research hub for battery technologies.

Dubbed the Canadian Battery Innovation Centre, or CBIC, the project is receiving about $8 million from Natural Resources Canada’s Energy Innovation Program and $2 million from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. The funds will complement the $1.98 million already committed by

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Propel Announces Traction and Growth Grads

Virtual startup accelerator Propel has announced the seven companies graduating from the latest cohort of its Traction and Growth program for scaling companies.

Traction and Growth is meant for startups with more developed operations than those in Propel’s earlier-stage Vision and Validation program. To be eligible, entrepreneurs must have monthly revenue and be working on their business

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Farrell to Host Entrevestor Live

We’re delighted to announce that Dr. Ellen Farrell, professor of venture capital and entrepreneurship at Saint Mary’s University, has agreed to be the Chair and Host of Entrevestor Live at Volta on the afternoon of Sept. 17.

Entrevestor Live is our annual event showcasing the best and the brightest in the Atlantic Canadian innovation community. This half-day event highlights the startups that

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Sustane Ships First Naphtha to Europe

Circular economy startup Sustane Technologies’ first shipment of naphtha fuel derived from waste plastics is on its way to a client in Europe.

In an interview, CEO Peter Vinall said the company tested a variety of possible plastic sources for its plant in Chester, N.S., such as rejected plastics from recycling streams. The process has been made more efficient by Sustane developing a suite of

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InvestorQ&A Deploys Persuasion Research

Ellen Farrell, the Saint Mary’s University professor who has been one of the key architects behind the Sobey School of Business’s entrepreneurship programming, is commercializing a new software product aimed at helping women founders perform better during question and answer sessions with investors.

InvestorQ&A is software designed to help entrepreneurs inspire more confidence from would-be

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Hack Will Not impact Startups: Invest NS

A phishing scam that led to Invest Nova Scotia sending $573,000 to an imposter posing as a venture capital executive will not impact startups, the provincial economic development corporation said Monday.

First reported by The Halifax Examiner and AllNovaScotia, the theft happened in May and was discovered in June. The theft was the work of a hacker using a Russian VPN. In an email, Director of

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GIT Approaches 300 Vessels Coated

When Marcel Gaier commutes to work these days, he often travels via a ferry treated with his own company’s environmentally friendly hull coating.

Gaier is the chief technology officer for GIT Coatings, previously Graphite Innovation and Technologies, which he co-founded eight years ago with Mo AlGermozi, the chief executive officer. Their business has seen about 400 percent sales growth so far

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