Opportunities NB and GE Canada announce new partnership to accelerate New Brunswick technology entrepreneurs into the global marketplace

FREDERICTON, NB, Oct. 8, 2015 /CNW/ - Opportunities New Brunswick (NB), GE Canada and GE Ventures Licensing have announced a partnership to provide New Brunswick entrepreneurs access to GE intellectual property that will help them bring new technology, products and services to market.

Stephen Lund, president and CEO of Opportunities NB, and Ross Hornby, vice-president of government affairs and policy at GE Canada, made the announcement at the joint GE and Opportunities NB 2015 Small Business Day event held at Planet Hatch in Fredericton.

The Small Business Day event included discussions about innovation in New Brunswick, as well as opportunities for New Brunswick companies to pitch how they might license and commercialize GE technology to serve the needs of their customers.

"We are excited about the prospect of collaborating with GE and the top emerging technology companies in New Brunswick," said Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries Minister Rick Doucet, who is also minister responsible for Opportunities NB. "This partnership is a great opportunity for New Brunswick entrepreneurs to connect with GE technology. This partnership will also contribute to the development of a culture of innovation in the New Brunswick business community."

Several New Brunswick companies participated in the Small Business Day event.

New Brunswick is the third province in Canada, after Nova Scotia and Alberta, to collaborate with GE on the sharing of intellectual property.

"At GE, we believe partnership and collaboration are key drivers for innovation and we look forward to being your innovation partner of choice," said Mike Petracci, president of Licensing for GE Ventures. "Our goal is to make intellectual property available to New Brunswick companies that will help them fast track solutions, and create new business and market opportunities."

"We are very excited that GE is looking for New Brunswick companies with a clear understanding of their market, their customers, and their customers' challenges," said Lund. "Opportunities NB is eager to support our businesses in forming partnerships with GE to help them grow and expand their operations in New Brunswick."

About Opportunities New Brunswick

Opportunities NB is an action-oriented agency which seeks to attract and support high-growth opportunities to grow the New Brunswick economy and create jobs. It provides business support services for small and medium-sized, as well as large businesses across the province.

About GE

GE (NYSE: GE) is the world's Digital Industrial Company, transforming industry with software-defined machines and solutions that are connected, responsive and predictive. GE is organized around a global exchange of knowledge, the "GE Store," through which each business shares and accesses the same technology, markets, structure and intellect. Each invention further fuels innovation and application across our industrial sectors. With people, services, technology and scale, GE delivers better outcomes for customers by speaking the language of industry. www.ge.com

SOURCE General Electric Canada Inc.

Carolyn McCormack, Opportunities New Brunswick, [phone]; Rahim Ladha, GE Canada, [phone]