Business Innovation in Rural Nova Scotia

Business and community leaders from across the province will gather in Yarmouth today, Oct. 23, to celebrate entrepreneurship and innovation in Nova Scotia’s businesses. About 200 Nova Scotians will attend Innovation Fête at Nova Scotia Community College’s (NSCC) Burridge campus.

Yarmouth entrepreneur Scott Dauphinee will share his entrepreneurial story at the event. Mr. Dauphinee and his partners have developed a recyclable lobster trap, an innovation that has the potential to save fishers considerable time and money and significantly reduce waste. They are also choosing to build their business at Ignite Labs, a new business hub located on NSCC’s Burridge campus.

Since opening this summer, Ignite Labs has become a popular spot for entrepreneurs and innovators in southwest Nova Scotia. Seven resident companies are already working out of the new hub, with other partners like Digital Nova Scotia and Mash-up Labs offering evening and weekend training sessions to the broader community.

Ignite Labs also connects with NSCC’s educational programs and local business associations, creating more bridges between the post-secondary system, startup companies and more established businesses in southwest Nova Scotia.

“The flurry of activity happening in this region is really exciting,” said Doug Jones, entrepreneur and executive director of Ignite Labs. “Government, post-secondary institutions, business associations and our startup community are coming together to drive innovation and its working.”

“Nova Scotia has great economic potential and we need to keep working together to grow our economy, increase the number of high-growth companies and create jobs,” said Zach Churchill, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development on behalf of Business Minister Geoff MacLellan. “By working together, we can build a stronger economic foundation for people to live, work and do business here, for the benefit all Nova Scotians.”

In June, government announced a new series of partnerships with the Nova Scotia Community College, Cape Breton University, Cape Breton Partnership, Halifax Partnership and Dalhousie University to drive innovation, increase the number of high-growth companies and build stronger networks of support for entrepreneurs across the province.

Government also continues to create the conditions for more businesses to start and grow by removing barriers to economic growth, including recently passing legislation that will make the cost of incorporating a new company in Nova Scotia the lowest in the country as of Jan. 1.

Source: Release