Photo: Northern Innovation Network
While many people and businesses are enjoying the lazy days of summer, for the 12 semi-finalists of the Northern Angel Summit, it is time to hone their ten-minute pitches before delivering them to a panel of angel investors on September 8 and 9, the next step in the 10-week competition for a $100,000 investment into their start-up.
Organized by Northern Innovation Network and supported by Northern Development, Innovate BC, the Province of BC and the Government of Canada, the 2025 Northern Angel Summit is the first of an annual initiative designed to bridge the gap in early-stage capital by equipping founders and aspiring investors with the skills, resources, and network needed to navigate the capital-raising process.
Of the dozen finalists, Northern Development has already directly financially supported five businesses through either the Competitiveness Consulting Rebate (CCR) or Northern Industries Innovation Fund (NIIF):
- Design Time (Prince George)
2025 CCR grant: engage in strategy marketing and communications - Forefront Energy (Pouce Coupe)
2024 CCR Grant: complete a comprehensive business analysis and strategy
2024 NIIF grant: prototype finalization and testing of new technology - North Pacific Kelp (Daajing Giids)2023 NIIF grant: adopt new technologies for freeze drying to add new products to their food processing
2024 CCR grant: strategy research, development and planning - Open Waters Solar (Prince George)
2022 NIIF grant: development of composite solar panels
2023 CCR grant: branding, marketing and website development - Prodelta Projects Inc.(Fort St. John)
2021 CCR grant: marketing and branding
2021 NIIF grant: digital process transformation in fieldwork data (development of new mobile application for use in the oil and gas industry)
2022 CCR grant: develop of new process for data automation alleviating manual data entry for operational efficiency
2024 NIIF grant: integrating AI into software for predictive modeling to streamline operations
Through the Rural Business and Community Recovery Regional Business Liaison program, funded by the Province of BC, Northern Development provided funding to the Northern Innovation Network (formerly Hubspace) for two regional innovation liaisons for Northern B.C. These roles provide one-on-one support to business in the Northwest and Northeast overcome challenges starting, growing or thriving in the tech and innovation space. Northern Development is proud to partner with Northern Innovation Network to enable innovation and tech advancement in our region, creating a strong ecosystem of business resources and supports across the North.
