The Spark Nova Scotia startup competition, which last fall held two pitching events on the province’s mainland, has announced its Cape Breton winners, both software companies: artificial intelligence bookkeeping startup Bank Scan Pro and festival logistics platform Apollo Festival.

Bank Scan, founded by Alison Gionvinetti, and Apollo, founded by Darcy Campbell, beat out four other shortlisted companies to win $50,000 and $40,000 respectively. Bank Scan promises to extract transaction details from financial documents to automate bookkeeping, while Apollo bills itself as a cloud-based platform for festival organizers to manage the activities of staff, volunteers and festival talent. 

Winners from Nova Scotia’s other two regions were announced in October, but Spark organizers delayed the Cape Breton branch of the competition to give more startups time to apply. Now in its 10th year, the Spark program aims to nurture Nova Scotian startups based outside of metro Halifax, including by offering winners up to $50,000 of non-dilutive funding, as well as mentorship.

The Nova Scotia Association of Community Business Development Corporations, or CBDC — local groups that distribute funding to found or grow small businesses — is responsible for the program, which is funded by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.

“Not only are we providing early-stage companies with financial support but we are also welcoming them into the ecosystem, which provides access to a network of advisors, mentors and peers,” said CBDC Executive Director Erinn Smith in a statement.