RICC collaborates with Ontario Network of Entrepreneurs (ONE) Partners in Peel to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship

Mississauga, Ontario – RIC Centre announced the finalists for the Unlock Your Big Idea Pitch Competition today at its Growing Your Business seminar. The aim of Unlock Your Big Idea is to support innovation and economic development in the community by helping entrepreneurs take their business ideas from concept to commercialization.

The finalists in each of the four categories are as follows:

1. Best Innovation for Tech Business
   • Dash MD
   • Electrefy
   • EMAGIN
   • ParticipAid
2. Best Disruptive Innovation
   • InstecBio
   • IQ Biomedical
   • Medella Health
   • uBioDiscovery
3. Best Innovation for Small Business
   • BridesMade
   • Mod Market
   • Oneiric
4. Best ‘Investment Ready’ Company
   • Micharity
   • Suncayr
   • U-Dimensions

The finalists were selected from a pool of over 160 applicants.  They will compete in a live pitch event to an esteemed panel of judges including Matt Schnarr from Awake Chocolates, Heather Arthur from Rogers Communications, Dan Sinai from IBM Canada, Stephen Beney from Bereskin & Parr, and more to be announced! The winners will be awarded cash prizes as well as mentorship through the Peel Ontario Network of Entrepreneur partner organizations. The winner for each category will receive a prize of $10,000 and the runner-up a prize of $2,500.

The Live Pitch Finale will take place on Thursday, May 5, 2016 from 5:00 – 8:00pm at the University of Toronto Mississauga campus. Register here to attend this free event!

“The Unlock Your Big Idea finale will showcase enterprising entrepreneurs and unique business ideas,” stated Pam Banks, Executive Director RIC Centre, “Pitch finalists will have the opportunity to expand their network and receive critical feedback from the judges to grow their business”

The competition is delivered in partnership with the Peel members of the Ontario Network of Entrepreneurs, including HumberLaunch, the Brampton Entrepreneur Centre, I-CUBE – University of Toronto Mississauga, the Mississauga Business Enterprise Centre, and the RIC Centre. The program is supported by the Campus Linked Accelerator program through the Ontario Centre of Excellence.

The RIC Centre aims to help tech entrepreneurs fast-track their business. Its vision and mission is to facilitate connections between the entrepreneurial imagination and practical resources for commercialization, thereby building an innovation ecosystem to support community prosperity in Peel Region.

For more information, go to uybipitch.com.

About RIC Centre

Peel Region’s hub for innovation and entrepreneurship, the Research Innovation Commercialization (RIC) Centre, co-located with Xerox Research Centre of Canada, is a not-for-profit organization supporting the development of innovation and entrepreneurship in Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon. RIC Centre offers a comprehensive range of support services for free, including mentorship and advisory services, hands-on workshops and networking events to help entrepreneurs fast-track their business to market. RIC Centre hosts a six-month Incubator program to help startups define their path to market by exploring and securing partnerships that will open access to capital, connections and paying customers.

For more information:

Amarpreet Kaur
Operations Manager, RIC Centre
289-373-3050 ex. 204
[email protected]