For more than 30 years, the Centre for Entrepreneurship Education & Development (CEED) has been a launchpad for business success in Nova Scotia. According to President and CEO Craig MacMullin, that’s just the beginning.

“When people hear ‘entrepreneurship,’ they often think we’re only about launching new businesses,” he says. “But from the beginning, CEED has seen entrepreneurship as a set of skills and behaviours. It’s something you can learn, refine, and evolve—at any stage in the life cycle of a business.”

From startups to scale-ups, stay-ups, and exits, CEED focuses on the full entrepreneurial journey. Each year, it delivers advisory services, peer-to-peer learning programs, professional development, and access to flexible micro-financing — often the missing link between a viable idea and a sustainable business. CEED’s learning tracks, mentorship models, and innovation workshops are designed to meet entrepreneurs where they are.

“Most of the conversations we’re having now around innovation and artificial intelligence aren’t about tech companies,” MacMullin says. “They’re about small and medium-sized businesses — how they’re going to stay competitive, increase profitability, and grow. AI is a lever, not a threat.”

We don’t start businesses. We don’t keep businesses running. We develop and support the entrepreneurs that make that happen.

—Craig MacMullin

At CEED, AI is introduced as a creative tool, particularly for solo entrepreneurs. “Before, you’d gather a group in a room to flesh out ideas,” he says. “Now, post-COVID, people show up on screens, often alone. So we’re training founders to use AI as another persona in the room—something to challenge assumptions, test ideas, and simulate customer responses.”

Still, for all its technological fluency, CEED sees entrepreneurship as a fundamentally human endeavour. Its real work, MacMullin says, is mindset transformation.

“The biggest barrier we face isn’t the tool—it’s whether the person has a fixed mindset. People get used to black-and-white answers. They resist ambiguity. But innovation is fluid. It’s uncomfortable. And it never stops once you launch.”

That belief in continuous learning has defined CEED from its origins in the Nova Scotia Department of Education to its current role as a nonprofit innovation hub. Today, CEED programs reach thousands across the province—from university and college students exploring entrepreneurial thinking to experienced founders reimagining their business models.

In MacMullin’s words: “We don’t start businesses. We don’t keep businesses running. We develop and support the entrepreneurs that make that happen. They start the business. They scale the business. They respond to change.”

That response, he insists, must be proactive, not reactive. “It’s not just about fishing the lobster,” he says. “It’s about processing it, finding value-added products, and completing the economic cycle here at home. Let’s not be the drawers of water anymore. Let’s be the ones who do something with it.”

From financing to training to networks of support, CEED remains where Nova Scotia’s entrepreneurial conversation begins—and increasingly, where it evolves. In a time of volatility and technological disruption, the organization’s mission remains grounded in impact, innovation, and community—with a clear focus on unlocking human potential.

“Mindset is the difference,” MacMullin says. “Because tools change. Economies change. But the capacity to learn, adapt, and create value? That’s what carries you forward.”