Smart City accelerator InnoCité MTL unveils its second cohort

MONTREAL, April 1, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - InnoCité MTL, Canada's first smart city accelerator, is proud to announce that five startups will form its second cohort: Potloc, Key2Access, Wedo, Goowi and Local Logic. Criteria for selection included the quality of the business plan, the potential for growth as well as the relevance to the urban challenges addressed by the six priority programs of the Montreal Smart and Digital City 2015-2017 Action Plan: public Wi-Fi, ultra high-speed multiservice network, smart city economic cluster, smart mobility, participatory democracy, digital public services.

Potloc
Potloc builds smarter neighbourhoods by implementing the right store in the right neighbourhood. Potloc.com helps retailers identify local demand by asking people what they need in their neighbourhood. – Potloc.com

Key2Access
Key2Access is the smart city solution for accessible pedestrian crossing. Key2Access is empowering impaired pedestrians with the use of technology to revolutionize municipal infrastructure and create more inclusive communities. - Key2Access.com

Wedo
Here's the new era of home services. With WeDo, you can get multiple services for your property, including snow removal, pool maintenance and mowing grass, all without contracts. Get it when you want it, wherever you want. Save time and money with WeDo. – gowedo.net

Goowi
Goowi is fundamentally transforming corporate philanthropy by connecting businesses & individuals to make greater social impact, together. With Goowi's platform, corporations can seamlessly & cost-effectively, integrate philanthropy into their operations by engaging their customers & employees to support charities of their choice. – goowi.com

Local Logic
Local Logic enables e-commerce websites to market the hidden value of great urban locations. Local Logic provides them with insight on every street corner in a city to help their customers find the best house, hotel or restaurant. - locallogic.co

InnoCité MTL leverages the power of its network of mentors and of public- and private-sector partners who have the potential to partner with these startups.

"We're very proud to present this second cohort of five young startups, who respond to the issues faced by urban centres today in new and innovative ways. Montreal is an innovative city and it's thanks to partners like InnoCité that we're able to encourage Montreal's smart city ecosystem to realize its full economic potential", states Harout Chitilian, Vice-president of the executive committee, in charge of administrative reform, smart city initiatives and information technology.

"The InnoCité MTL accelerator is sustained by its partners. This is a great strength of our organisation and an asset that we wish to highlight in order to ensure the success of our second cohort. Throughout the program, participating startups will have the opportunity to present their product and receive feedback from a potential client, whether that be the Ville de Montreal or one of our corporate partners. This is critical for bringing a product to market", states Béatrice Couture, general manager of InnoCité MTL.

The five startups of InnoCité MTL's second cohort will participate in an intensive twelve-week program focusing on product market fit. This includes training and practical workshops, an access to a diverse ecosystem of mentors, prototyping and the development of a local and international commercialization strategy.

About InnoCité MTL

InnoCité MTL is a business acceleration program that directly meets Montrealers' expectations. Through this program, the private sector in general and start-ups in particular will implement solutions to urban issues, with a focus on the City of Montréal's priority projects outlined in its Montréal, Smart and Digital City, 2015-2017 Action Plan, a complete copy of which is available online, and in accordance with the city's economic development action plan.

Proud partner of Ville de Montréal, InnoCité MTL benefits from support from the city thanks to financial assistance provided by the Government of Quebec available through the Entente Montréal 2015, administered by the Secrétariat à la région métropolitaine. Several organisations also help finance this project, including TELUS, Desjardins, Pages Jaunes, GE Lighting and IBM, as sponsors of InnoCité MTL and Real Ventures, Pages Jaunes and Quebecor, as investors in program participating startups.
www.innocite.ca

SOURCE InnoCité MTL

Source: Béatrice Couture, General manager, InnoCité MTL, Telephone : [phone], [email protected]; Media relations: Bérengère Thériault, BéPR, Telephone : [phone], [email protected]