WINNIPEG – February 24, 2017 – North Forge Technology Exchange has been chosen by Startup Canada to host the 2017 Startup Canada Awards, Prairies region. The Awards celebrate outstanding achievement in Canada’s entrepreneurship and innovation community.

“We can’t wait to host the Startup Canada Awards, especially among the Canada 150 celebrations,” said Jeff Ryzner, North Forge President. “Having the awards here is an honour and brings even more energy and momentum to the community we’re building for entrepreneurs and innovators in Manitoba. North Forge’s one year anniversary is ahead this April, so being selected shows how much we’ve been able to accomplish in our first year.”

North Forge itself was recognized in November with the National Startup Canada Entrepreneur Support Award, which was accepted by Ryzner in Toronto. For that honour, North Forge was selected from among 50 regional winners.

Past recipients of Startup Canada Awards include Meredith J. Powell, co-founder of Vancouver-based non-profit The Next Big Thing; Dax Dasilva, founder of Lightspeed and Never Apart; Nadia Hamilton, the founder of Waterloo-based technology company magnusmode; and Swarochish ‘Swish’ Goswami, a serial entrepreneur and innovator who built seven high-impact ventures including World Youth Fund, The Next Foundry, and Rafiki Media.

Regional Awards Ceremonies will be hosted by entrepreneur support partners in cities across Canada this fall. The following partners will host this year’s other regional ceremonies:

• Opportunities New Brunswick in New Brunswick
• YuKonstruct, (co)space, and Startup Whitehorse in Whitehorse, YT
• La Gare in Montreal, QC
• Collab Space in Ottawa, ON
• Startup Kamloops and Kamloops Innovation in Kamloops, BC

Regional award winners will be announced at grassroots events across Canada this fall, with the grand finale taking place in Toronto on November 14, 2017.

Startup Canada opened nominations today and invites individuals, businesses and organizations to apply for 17 awards, including the Startup Canada Indigenous Entrepreneur Award, Startup Canada Innovation Award and the Startup Canada High-Growth Award. To celebrate Canada’s 150-year anniversary, a new award will commemorate an iconic business that has propelled Canada’s brand on the global stage through its determination and leadership.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Dan Waters
Director of Marketing, Communications & Community Engagement
P: 204.262.6400 • C: 204.470.3299
dwaters@67.231.26.222