Sir Terry Matthews Challenges Ottawa Business Community to do More

This week I sat down with Sir Terry Matthews for a frank and engaging discussion about Ottawa and its knowledge-based industry. He had a very clear message to deliver to the sold-out audience of 250 plus entrepreneurs, business people and local professionals. As a business community, he believes we need to do more. He challenged ...

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Posted in General Invest Ottawa


ICC 2012 – Connect • Communicate • Collaborate

In June Ottawa will host ICC 2012, the IEEE’s 47th annual International Conference on Communications. This marks the first time that this prestigious event has been hosted in Ottawa and only the sixth time that it has been hosted in Canada. With Ottawa’s long history in telecommunications and our strong wireless sector, we are a ...

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Posted in General Invest Ottawa


Do you know how much gas is in your tank?

What would you do if you got in your car and found your fuel gauge broken and had no idea how much gas you had in your tank? Most of us would get to our dealer as soon as we could so we wouldn’t risk running out of gas. But many entrepreneurs go for years ...

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Posted in Entrepreneurship


Creating Profitable Disruptive Business Opportunities in Ottawa

From March 14 – 16 utilities, auto manufacturers, scientists, policy makers, the US military, Google, Macy’s, the Bank of America, OnStar and Campbell Soup Company gathered in Washington DC to discuss what they all have in common (which is coincidently one of the biggest opportunities for businesses in the Ottawa region going forward) and despite ...

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Posted in Clean Tech, International Outreach, Key Sectors


Ottawa Entrepreneur Week receives international recognition as one of Canada’s best

At Invest Ottawa we are all about entrepreneurs, so when we receive recognition nationally AND internationally for the first-ever Ottawa Entrepreneur Week that we initiated just four months ago, it inspires us raise our bar even higher. The Canadian Youth Business Foundation (CYBF) is the official host of Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) in Canada and ...

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Posted in Entrepreneurship


Showcasing Ottawa to the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

On Monday March 5, 2012, Ottawa welcomed a government and business delegation led by the UAE’s Foreign Minister to Canada. The delegates included top decision-makers, representing a variety of corporate interests, family wealth and institutional linkages with $7.5B of investment capital targeted for Canada. Traditionally UAE investment in Canada has been in oil and gas, ...

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Posted in General Invest Ottawa, International Outreach


It’s not always about the money

One of the most frequent questions asked by entrepreneurs to Invest Ottawa is how can I get funding? While you shouldn’t answer a question with another question, maybe the best answer is do you really need it? Invest Ottawa’s iProfit program has worked with entrepreneurs in the past few months who thought they needed to ...

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Posted in Entrepreneurship, General Invest Ottawa


OCRI and IRAP to Host VC PitchFest on February 8th

It’s not often that we get some of the top VCs from Toronto and Montreal in town to meet with some of the most promising ICT startups in Ottawa. Throw in some of some of the key venture folks from Ottawa and you have a great opportunity to find out what makes these guys tick, ...

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Posted in Business Acceleration, General Invest Ottawa


Biggest changes in GoC IT in years – do you fit it in?

Two weeks ago I met for over two hours with the most senior Shared Services Canada (SSC) representatives to discuss their plans to consolidate IT Services across the Federal Government. Their organization will include more than 6000 people and over a billion dollars in budget. It is clear that the Government will move forward with ...

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Posted in General Invest Ottawa


So Ottawa, you want to be in pictures? Commissioner of Film, TV and Digital Media to Promote Ottawa as a Film-Friendly Destination

As of January 2, 2012, Geneviève Ménard Hayles stepped into the role of Commissioner of Film, TV and Digital Media in OCRI’s new home at 80 Aberdeen Street. Geneviève had previously been the Executive Director of the Canadian Tulip Festival for 2011. She has long held an avid interest in film and entertainment sparked by ...

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Posted in General Invest Ottawa, International Outreach