With rising star awards and multi-million dollar contracts, there is a lot to know about Atlantic Canadian business this week.

Startup Canada awards honour Atlantic entrepreneurs
The Fredericton Convention Centre was the site of this year’s Startup Canada Atlantic region awards, celebrating the top entrepreneurs and businesses in Atlantic Canada. This year’s awards were held on June 11.

• Social Enterprise Award sponsored by Sovereign Insurance was given to SucSeed from St. John’s, N.L.
• Port City Candy Co.’s Noah Donovan took home the Young Entrepreneur Award sponsored by Scotiabank
• St. John’s-based HeyOrca took home the High-Growth Entrepreneurship Award sponsored by Mastercard Canada
• Chinova Bioworks CEO Natasha Dhayagude was awarded the Woman Entrepreneur Award sponsored by Business Development Bank of Canada
• Co-Founder and Chairman of F6 Networks of Fredericton, Gary F. Keenan, was given the Entrepreneur of the Year Award sponsored by Scotiabank
• The Entrepreneur Promotion Award sponsored by Intuit Quickbooks was awarded to Ignite Fredericton CEO Larry Shaw
• Joint Economic Development Initiative (JEDI) of Fredericton took home the Entrepreneur Support Award sponsored by Intuit Quickbooks
• Global Entrepreneurship Award sponsored by UPS Canada was awarded to ThermalWood Canada of Bathurst, N.B.
• Halifax’s Sona Nanotech Inc. took home the Innovation Award sponsored by Intuit Quickbooks

Two NS med-tech companies score major funding
NBMontreal-based health technology organization Medteq, who supports health-tech innovators across the country, has announced two Halifax companies received a portion of their $11-million funding exercise. Spring Loaded Technology, which makes robotic knee braces, and Densitas, which asses breast tissue density during mammograms, will each receive a piece of the pie, though precise details of funding levels have not been released.

New Brunswick’s Export Awards announced
The 2019 Export Awards were held on Thursday, June 13 honouring exporters at the Saint John Trade & Convention Centre. Hosted by OpportunitiesNB and ACOA, the Emerging Exporter of the Year was given to OneZero Innovation while bridge and infrastructure company Atlantic Industries Ltd. took home the Innovative Exporter of the Year. Measurand, a geotechnical instrument company, took home Exporter of the Year in the over $5-million in export sales category while Lizotte Machine Vision took home the same award in the sub $5-million category. InteliSys Aviation Systems home the Global Diversification award.

Kraken announces multi-million dollar contract with US company
The Newfoundland-based Kraken Robotics has landed a $2.1-million contract with ThayerMahan Inc., a US-based company that specializes in autonomous maritime systems who will use Kraken’s KATFISH 190, technology developed by its robotics systems arm.

TIAPEI partners with Restaurants Canada
The Tourism Industry Association of Prince Edward Island (TIAPEI) has announced a new partnership with Restaurants Canada, which began on June 1. Restaurants Canada is a member-based association of foodservice businesses who will team up with members of TIAPEI within the foodservice industry so they receive the same benefits appreciated across the country by food and beverage industry owners, including education, resources and digital communication.

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