As 2024 draws to a close, we are filled with a sense of pride as we reflect back on a year of innovation, collaboration, and community impact. WEtech Alliance has been privileged to witness and support some of the remarkable milestones and big wins across Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent over the past year.
Through our continued partnership with Boundless Accelerator, we celebrated the announcement of the third cohort of the government of Canada supported i.d.e.a. Fund.
This summer, we launched Tech Connect Summer Socials, a series designed to activate our city’s core and bring together tech professionals, entrepreneurs, and community leaders to foster meaningful connections in a relaxed and engaging environment. These events, along with our Tech Connect Meetups, emphasized the importance of collaboration and highlighted the region’s growing tech ecosystem.
From groundbreaking automation to redefining industries, this year has been a testament to the power of the innovative high growth companies in this region. Two of the most notable successes include Optimotive’s $2 million investment raise to help support the launch of their two new robots, and Picsume’s $1 million in seed investment and newly appointed advisory board, paving the way for national growth.
In the past few months alone, we also saw Resimate secure a $3 million prize as a finalist in the CMHC Housing Supply Challenge – on top of the $1 million they already secured as a semi-finalist, as well as Cedar Valley’s Surria Fadel and CanGro AgriFoods’ Fuseinat Brimah being accepted into Communitech’s Fierce Founders program.
This year also marked the evolution of key programs, such as the ScaleUP Accelerator 2.0, which not only welcomed its eighth cohort, but also saw the announcement of a new four-year partnership that will enable the expansion into the Kitchener-Waterloo region next year.
Collaboration and inclusivity were also key themes in 2024. Initiatives like the Women in Mobility Peer Group, Women Driven Mobility Breakfast, and Women in Mobility Spotlights highlighted the incredible contributions of women driving change in mobility and tech, and the Southwestern Ontario Black Entrepreneurship Network (SWOBEN) supported Black entrepreneurs in our region, while highlighting their achievements and successes.
As we look toward 2025, the entire WEtech Alliance team and Board of Directors would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our clients, partners, and community members a very safe and happy holiday season.
Please note that our office will be closed for the holidays from December 23rd, 2024, until January 6th, 2025.