Nivatha Balendra, founder and CEO of Laval, Quebec-based Dispersa, has been named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 class of 2025 in the Science category.  

Cleantech startup Dispersa runs its Sydney operation out of the industrial bioprocessing facility at the Verschuren Centre. The company makes biodegradable surfactants, which are ingredients used in consumer products likes soaps, shampoos and cosmetics to break down oils.

Unlike most surfactants, which are petroleum byproducts and contain chemicals which are potentially carcinogenic, Dispersa’s are derived from microorganisms grown in food waste, the company said.

Balendra was inspired to found the company when, as a 17-year-old, a deadly train derailment and oil spill in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, sparked her interest in environmentally friendly solutions to oil contamination. She was diagnosed with cancer as a student at McGill and is in remission.

Last year, her company raised $3M of equity and debt, with the lead investor being economic development agency Invest Nova Scotia. Dispersa also received a $500,000 loan from the federal government.

The Verschuren Centre is a not-for-profit facility that provides sophisticated fermentation infrastructure to startups working in bio-processing, marine processing, carbon transformation, bioplastics, energy storage and sustainable resource use.

Companies that want to use the centre’s facilities gain access by participating in its AscendBio accelerator program. When Dispersa joined AscendBio in Sept. 2022, the program was run jointly with Innovacorp, the forebear of Invest Nova Scotia.

At the time, Dispersa was also one of five startups accepted into Innovacorp's GreenShoots accelerator.