Famed entrepreneur and philanthropist Desh Deshpande will officially open the 2017 Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centres Conference on Friday at Dalhousie University in Halifax.

The consortium is a meeting place for university entrepreneurship facilities from around the world. The event in Halifax will discuss the role of these centres in the development of new companies and the

Entrants from around the world are being sought for a Nova Scotia competition designed to find solutions to ocean industry problems and offer about $200,000 in prize money.

The Blue Solutions Start-Up Challenge has been established by Innovacorp and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency to provide cash and business guidance to winning entrepreneurs.

The contest is designed to build on the

Joe Randell, CEO of Chorus Aviation Inc., an organization that offers a full suite of aviation services, is this year’s EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2017 Atlantic winner.

“Joe has played a vital role shaping the landscape of the Canadian airline industry,” Gina Kinsman, EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Atlantic Program Director, said in a statement. “He’s navigated some turbulent times, but his strong

Fredericton-based SomaDetect has won the US$1 million first prize in the 43Northcompetition in Buffalo, NY.

As well as giving the one-year-old company the equivalent of C$1.25 million, the win grants SomaDetect space at the 43North incubator in Buffalo for three year, and 10 years of paying no state taxes in New York State. Buffalo could prove a valuable U.S. base for the company as SomaDetect

As it raises its Series A funding round, Solace Power of Mount Pearl, NL, has named Michael Gotlieb as CEO to guide the company alongside Founder and President Kris McNeil.

Solace Power specializes in wireless power – that is, delivering electrical energy to batteries or devices without any wires attached to them. It works on projects for specific customers, such as Boeing and data solutions

With heat pump technology improving and the devices becoming more popular, Fredericton’s Stash Energy is well positioned to build a business around storing that energy.

Stash co-founder and CEO Jordan Kennie believes Stash is the only energy storage venture in North America that is working with heat pumps. The startup intends to sell energy storage by partnering with utility companies.

Kennie

Innovacorp on Thursday revealed the shortlist for its Spark competition, which will award a total of $800,000 in non-dilutive capital to startups across the province.

The innovation agency said in August its Spark competition would provide grants of $10,000 to $50,000 to each winner. The competition breaks the province into four zones, and will award $200,00 in each area.

There were 136

LifeRaft, the Halifax company whose platform uncovers potential threats through social media posts, has brought in noted investor Mike Durland to its team as an investor and adviser.

The company said today that Durland led a “non-dilutive” $1.45 million financing round, and will now become a strategic adviser to the company. The round, which comprises three investors, is non-dilutive (meaning it

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

The government of Prince Edward Island has announced that 10 young companies will receive Ignition grants of $25,000 each to develop their products or services.

The government said Tuesday the grants would be awarded to the companies to help commercialize their new products. The government created the Ignition Fund in 2014, and since then it has assisted 38 new or expanding Island businesses.