Here's what moves us. 

Winnipeg’s startup community will once again come together this April as North Forge hosts its annual RampUp Weekend, a three-day event focused on turning early-stage ideas into viable business concepts. Staff on Shift celebrates their victory at the 2025 RampUp pitch competition in Winnipeg, holding a ceremonial cheque and championship belt. Running April 10 to 12, the event brings together aspiring entrepreneurs, innovators, and tech enthusiasts to test and build ideas in a

For Bruce Griffith, founder of Avriel International, the goal behind the company’s “Smart Shoe” technology is simple but powerful: detect the warning signs of diabetic foot complications before  they become visible wounds. For millions of people living with diabetes, foot ulcers are a serious and often life-altering complication. Once a wound develops, treatment can be costly and prolonged — and in severe cases, can lead to amputation. Griffith believes the key to changing th

For Polysense Solutions, the past year has marked a major turning point. The Manitoba-based startup has more than doubled its team — growing from three employees to seven — while sales have increased by hundreds of percent over the same period. For CEO and founder Matthew Gale, the momentum signals that the company has entered a new stage of growth. “This is really our breakout year,” Gale said. Polysense Solutions develops integrated hardware and software systems that monito

Winnipeg, MB – North Forge marked a decade of driving Manitoba’s innovation economy with a powerful celebration at the 2026 DARE Innovation Awards, an inaugural gala recognizing the founders, builders, researchers, and community leaders shaping the province’s future. Hosted by TEDx speaker and global connection expert Margaux Miller, the evening brought together innovators from across sectors for a night that reflected the strength, diversity, and momentum of Manitoba’s ecos

Dave, a recent addition to the North Forge Founders Program, is an agentic business platform for trades contractors. Of the nearly 4 million construction businesses in Canada and the US, most still run on fragmented apps and spreadsheets. Existing software records data but doesn't act on it. Dave models their operational flow and executes the work: estimates, invoices, payments, and project management. The more they use it, the more it automates. Just like a person would! Lik

Manitoba’s innovation ecosystem will take centre stage on February 24, 2026, as North Forge hosts the inaugural DARE Innovation Awards at the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada. The DARE Innovation Awards will recognize the entrepreneurs, organizations, researchers, and leaders whose bold thinking and execution are shaping Manitoba’s future. With more than 160 nominations submitted across nine award categories, the gala reflects the strength, diversity, and momentum of i

When Irfan Khan founded Innovative Global Ideas, his goal was simple yet ambitious: rethink how the world uses lighting. After more than a decade working across global lighting markets—from Central Asia to the Middle East—Khan witnessed firsthand how inefficient, energy-hungry lighting systems were taken for granted, even as energy costs and climate pressures continued to rise. Founded in 2017 in Bangkok, Thailand, Innovative Global Ideas develops advanced indoor and outdoor

For years, Kerry Green watched fresh food travel thousands of kilometres before landing on Manitobans’ plates — often wilted, expensive, or already nearing its expiry date. So instead of asking how to grow more food in one place, the Winnipeg-based entrepreneur began asking a different question: what if food was grown right where it’s needed? Les Verts Living aims to empower individuals, families and communities to grow their own fresh food indoors, increasing local food secu

Business is a busy world. Whether you’re steering the ship at a not-for-profit, bootstrapping a startup, or already making waves within a well-established company, it’s easy to get lost in the daily grind. Deadlines stack up. Decisions need to be made quickly. Progress often feels incremental, and sometimes invisible, when you’re focused on simply keeping things moving. But as 2025 winds down, there’s value in pausing. Not to declare victory, but to acknowledge momentum. Acro

A showcase of the groundbreaking ideas, technologies, and trailblazers shaping our province’s future. Global Village Publishing is extremely proud to announce that North Forge  will be the lead sponsor of our next exciting Canadian initiative:  INNOVATION Manitoba. Over the past several years, Global Village has proudly documented the stories of Canada’s most dynamic innovation ecosystems in our critically acclaimed volumes — INNOVATE Toronto , INNOVATE Ottawa , INNOVATE Mont

Winnipeg has earned a major moment on the global innovation stage. Local startup TAIV has been recognized on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for Marketing and Advertising, a milestone that reflects not only the founders’ achievements but the strength of Manitoba’s startup ecosystem powered by North Forge. For co founder Noah Palansky, the news arrived without warning. No shortlist. No heads up. Just his and co founder Jordan Davis’s names published on one of the world’s most inf

When Arturo Orellana and his business partner began developing Healthy Sips, they weren’t just responding to a trend — they were responding to a shift in how people think about health, socializing, and alcohol. As the co-founders of GFIT Wellness, a Manitoba-based health and fitness coaching company that has supported more than 20,000 people on their physical, nutritional, and mental health journeys, Orellana had a front-row seat to changing consumer behaviour. People still w

From a Missed Call to a Big Idea For many founders, innovation starts with curiosity. For David Owasi , it began with frustration — the kind that built up, one missed phone call at a time. While earning his computer science degree at the University of Manitoba , Owasi ran a painting franchise to help pay tuition. He spent his days up on ladders, juggling customers, crews, and calls. Despite being busy, he couldn’t capitalize on all the opportunities coming his way. “Customers

Canada’s 2025 Federal Budget makes one thing clear: the government is increasing its focus on innovation. From stronger R&D tax credits to major investments in AI, clean technology, and skills, Budget 2025 points to a more competitive and future-ready economy. For founders, this matters. These signals show where opportunities and funding are likely to grow. At North Forge , we help founders across the Prairies and across Canada turn these national initiatives into results. C

Fourteen years ago, a small group of builders on Innovation Alley set out to create a space where anyone could prototype, test, and build big ideas. Today, the North Forge FabLab has become Canada’s largest fabrication lab thats publicly accesible, supporting founders, engineers, and innovators from coast to coast. To celebrate 14 years of making, here are 14 FabLab facts you (probably) didn’t know. 1. AssentWorks Opened on October 27, 2011 It all began in a modest Winnipeg w

When David Peters was 16, his dad told him they were going to build a house together. Two years later, Peters realized he’d built much more than a home. He’d built the foundation for a career that would transform how thousands of construction crews around the world manage their time. “I basically thought, well, I know a lot of areas of construction, because I just built a house from start to finish,” Peters said. “So I jumped into the trades. I got a tax number and started a

Live in Peace Planning, a Saskatchewan-based startup, is helping families protect peace of mind when they need it the most. When Sharlene Bukurak  set out to update her family’s wills, she never imagined the process would spark an idea for a business — or lead her to become a tech founder in Regina, Saskatchewan. “I was thinking, ‘Oh, we really need to update our wills.’ The last time we did it, my kids were three and one — now they’re 25 and 23,” she said. “That happens to s

In healthcare, every minute matters — yet for many physicians, those precious minutes are often consumed by paperwork. That’s what Aivida , a Manitoba-based AI healthcare startup developing AI-driven healthcare solutions , set out to change. Their new product, Scribble , is an artificial intelligence scribe that streamlines clinical documentation so doctors can focus on patient care, not administrative tasks. “Physicians want to see more patients, but they don’t want to sacri

North Forge welcomes Tyler Braun-Colombe and Zac Poitras as recipients of the 2024–2025 Indigenous Entrepreneur Scholarship, gaining access to the FabLab and mentorship to build their artistic and entrepreneurial futures.

Imagine building a company from scratch — only to watch your groundbreaking ideas slip away because you couldn’t afford to protect them....