DiscoveryLab at Enterprise Square

See the world differently. Tell your story.

DiscoveryLab offers events where teams pitch plans to a panel of investors and advisors, and keynote talks are offered on a theme. Scalable innovations in any sector, location or stage of development are presented as are transformative technologies for diagnostics, medical devices, therapeutics, biotech, agtech, AI, cleantech, edtech, food/drinks, materials, energy, environment and resources.

We welcome new members including investors, industry experts and business advisors to join in to advise the diversity of teams presenting.

Presenters receive constructive feedback on the business plan summary and slidedeck they submit beforehand, a video recording of their pitch, an evaluation and scores, new connections and leads for funding.

Note: Teams that are pitching are invited to submit their business plan summary at least two weeks before the event to qualify for a slot and gain feedback to strengthen their pitch.

Presenters can also check out our Presenter Guide.

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Events & Opportunities

Get to Know Day: Connecting Alberta’s Innovation Ecosystem on Mar 20

Alberta Agrivoltaics 101: Solar & Farms Unite online on March 20

NRC IRAP deadlines for partnering in South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Austria, Germany, France, Brazil: deadlines from Mar 19 through April

Boston Canadian Technology Accelerator for cleantech, ICT and life sciences companies: deadline Mar 21

Alberta Innovates 2025 Health Innovation Awards nominations due Mar 21

Sustain YEG: Monthly Meetup at Edmonton Unlimited on March 27

Membrane Protein WebConference by the SMALP Network on Mar 27

Southern Alberta Economic Summit 2025 in Lethbridge on Mar 27

Scaleup Canada Edmonton50 Applications due Mar 31

Scaleup Canada Calgary50 Applications due Mar 31

EmpowRise Accelerator empowering Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour entrepreneurs in Alberta: apply by Mar 31

Intellectual Property and Patents 14 hr remote course for professionals, entrepreneurs, and inventors led by Bennett Jones at NAIT (Apr, May or Jun)

Transformational Connections: Create Partnerships in Calgary Apr 1

Greenhouse Business Innovation in Athabasca on Apr 8

Cherry Health Virtual Career Event on Apr 10

ICChange Gala: Clear Water, Clear Futures in Edmonton on April 12

Methane Leadership Summit 2025 in Banff on Apr 15-16

Navigating Trade Barriers: The Potential Impact of U.S. Tariffs on Canadian Oil and Gas and the Future of Canada’s Economy in Calgary on Apr 17

Canadian Hydrogen Convention @ Edmonton Convention Centre from Apr 22-24

ATB Edmonton Entrepreneur Talks: Featuring UofA grad Ivan Touko - Apr 31

Women's Leadership (Un)Conference with Connection Silicon Valley on May 2

High Level Innovation Conference! in Lethbridge from May 2–3

Advancing Healthcare through Simulation: A Provincial Summit at NAIT on May 7

Buy NAIT Tickets

Designing for Tomorrow Live Conference in Edmonton from May 7-9

Upper Bound AI Conference in Edmonton from May 20-23

Inventures at the BMO Centre in Calgary from May 21-23

AI4Good Lab on building machine learning projects from May 5-Jun 26

DiscoveryLab returns to the ICE Incubator in June

Pathway to Silicon Valley for female founders looking for investment, Jun 3-4

Global Energy Show Canada at the BMO Centre, Calgary from Jun 10-12

Elevate Women+ Entrepreneur Incubator deadline Jul 23

AgSmart at Olds College on Jul 28-31

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Our aims are to play a positive role by:

1. provide an open forum for entrepreneurs and innovators to pitch for free and connect with investors, business advisors and industry experts,

2. building trust and mutual understanding to ensure sustainable and rewarding multi-party relationships,

3. identifying major challenges that require innovative thinking,

4. mapping out precompetitive spaces for open-source collaboration,

5. developing fair and reasonable intellectual property strategies for progression and scalable funding,

6. structuring and optimizing core activities and facilities for supporting innovation, and 

7. increasing data quality, reproducibility and decisiveness while eliminating unnecessary duplication and costs.

We welcome collaborators and partners who are interested in working together to support the innovation ecosystem.

For clarity, DiscoveryLab does not recommend advisors or investors, make investments or provide funding, but can make introductions. Each person and company has the responsibility of obtaining legal advice and performing due diligence before signing contracts or taking investments.

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Funding Programs

Edmonton Edge Fund with $5 million for local tech and innovation is launching this year.

Post-Secondary Institution Business Development Support for students, faculty and staff at Edmonton’s post-secondary institutions: Executives in Residence access and up to 150 hours of free advice.

Alberta Export Expansion Program is resuming funding for the development of export markets for Alberta’s SMEs through the reimbursement of international business travel costs.

Alberta’s Hydrogen Centre of Excellence is making $20 million available over 24 months to support hydrogen production, storage, transmission, end-use projects under its Advancing Hydrogen - Competition 1 program.

Business Development Support (BDS) program open call for students, staff and alumni of Edmonton-based postsecondaries wanting to connect to industry specific expertise they need. Apply here.

BDC has launched of Thrive Venture Fund and Lab for Women, a $500-million investment platform to support the growth and economic impact of Canadian women-led businesses.

Canadian Digital Adoption Program from the Government of Canada is offering startups and SMEs grants to grow their online presence and upgrade and adopt digital technologies.

Capital City Pilots for Edmonton-based startups to test pilot-ready IP. using $10,000 in expert support, exclusive access to municipal clients, and resources.

Experiential Learning in Innovation, Technology, and Entrepreneurship (ELITE) Program for Black Youth age 15-22.

SRIA Innovation Fund to accelerate the adoption of innovative low-carbon solutions for buildings of all types

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Local innovation supports:

• Alberta Accelerator by 500
• Alberta Catalyzer (Pre-Accelerator)
• Alberta Innovates Revenue Accelerator
• Growth Catalyst
• Innovation Catalyst Grant Entrepreneurial Fellowship
• Lab2Market
• Plug and Play Alberta
• Propel, Startup Edmonton pre-accelerator
• TELUS Community Safety and Wellness Accelerato
• THRIVE Canada Accelerator for food/ag
• Trade Accelerator Program (TAP) Alberta