Foresight’s accelerator program for early stage startups, Kickstart, will be integrated into both AquaHacking 2021 Challenges: the Western Canada Challenge and the Mille Îles River Challenge.
“We are excited to share our proven successful programs with the next generation of watertech innovators,” said Jeanette Jackson, CEO of Foresight. “Through our work with the waterNEXT initiative, we’re tapping into an exciting array of opportunities. This partnership with Aqua Forum will add to the impact we’re creating for the future of water.”
Kickstart offers training and coaching to help entrepreneurs explore their customer’s problem, identify market opportunities, and craft a value proposition. All registered teams will have access to the Express edition of Kickstart in phase 1 of the competition. The selected finalist teams will be offered a more developed and interactive edition of the program in phase 2 of the Challenge.
“Collaborating with Foresight to strengthen the AquaHacking Challenge offering is of tremendous benefit to the passionate young innovators who will come through our program this year,” said Kariann Aarup, director of AquaHacking. “This kind of alliance, where we leverage our respective programs, is incredibly valuable for the growing watertech sector in Canada.”
The Kickstart program will focus on developing the entrepreneurial skills of AquaHacking Challenge participants as they build their innovative solutions to freshwater issues. The Kickstart program will also help prepare participants help for the business and tech ecosystems they will find themselves in after the Challenge.
Foresight is a cleantech ecosystem accelerator that supports the identification and validation of cleantech opportunities and the commercialization of solutions.
Aqua Forum is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness of water issues among Canadians. Its flagship program, the AquaHacking Challenge, is a tech innovation competition that engages young Canadians in developing entrepreneurial skills and creating tech solutions to address freshwater issues.
