For Indian Startups: Next Big Idea Contest 2018

Today I went to the ‘Next Big Idea Contest 2018‘ Chennai-launch event at Atworks Co-working campus, Guindy. This contest is for innovative technology startup companies looking to expand to the North American market.

According to the organisers – Zone Startups India & Ontario, Canada this contest offers winners an all-expense paid two-week market access program to three cities in Canada to explore Canada’s startup & innovation ecosystem; incubation opportunity; customer, investor & partner connections.

The speakers from Canadian Govt. mentioned that Canada provides an easier gateway to the larger North American market, including the U.S. market which maybe difficult for entrepreneurs to access directly.

They also mentioned that since Canada is a multi-cultural country, it welcomes immigrants more openly than their Southern counterpart. It seems the cost of doing business is lower in Canada and they have good University and talented workforce within the country. Besides, they’re expecting to welcome more than a million skilled immigrants in the near future.

They told us that one of Canada’s main focus is Artificial Intelligence, so if you are a startup focused on AI, you might want to tap into their ecosystem.

The state of British Columbia in Canada offers a Startup Visa program. They also offer grants like BC Tech Fund, CIIP Innovation Fund & GGI. So if you are looking to expand in Canada, you would want to look at Vancouver @ British Columbia, according to their spokesperson today.

So if you are a Startup wanting to participate in this contest, make sure you apply to this program before August 31, 2018 on the NBI 2018 website. 

Destination Infinity