If we are going to continue to inspire innovation across the economy and the country we need to flex our ability to collaborate and move with both speed and agility. For the past year, I believe we have been doing just that. This report is the showcase of the kinds of innovative programming and collaborative community building the Accelerate Okanagan team has designed, built, executed over the past year and a sure indicator that the Okanagan Valley is ripe with opportunity.

Building this annual report was a great opportunity to reflect on Accelerate Okanagan and OKGNtech’s past year. It was really exciting to see just how much we were able to grow as a community and to see the momentum we’ve created. Our programs are continuing to evolve and support companies in meaningful ways.

A year in review:

2019 played host to the first OKGN Angel Summit. This was a huge event not only for AO but for the tech community, as well. Trellis Social Enterprise was awarded the winning investment of $130,000—which is an incredible achievement; however, the investors were introduced to so many other worthy companies that it resulted in more than $4 million in committed investments as a whole. Each of the 44 companies participating in the event was able to take away some learnings that helped shape them for the next phase of their business.

Accelerate Okanagan, in conjunction with the Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission (COEDC) launched an Economic Impact Study which shows that the Okanagan region’s technology sector is booming. The report, which is now available on our website, has lots of good news for the Okanagan economy, including year-over-year economic growth of 15% since 2013.

We can really see that growth in our community and can’t wait to see what next year holds for Accelerate Okanagan and, more importantly, the OKGNtech community.

You can read more about Accelerate Okanagan’s 2018-2019 year in our Annual Report.