The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Bernard Davis, Minister of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation:

Mr. Speaker, I rise in this Honourable House today to congratulate Genesis – known to many as Newfoundland and Labrador’s innovation hub – on being named a ‘Top Challenger in North America’ by University Business Incubators Global at the World Incubation Summit held in Doha, Qatar last week.

A Top Challenger is a university-linked incubation program that stands out from its peers due to its impressive overall impact and performance achievements relative to its respective regional peers. Only three such organizations are recognized in each continent in the category.

Located at the Emera Innovation Exchange at Memorial University, Genesis is certainly tuned into the needs of the province’s business start-up community. It provides a supportive, mentor-driven environment, where companies can thrive, with supports for pre-incubation and business model development, through to investor readiness.

For over 20 years, Genesis has proven to be a leader in building and strengthening the province’s emerging tech sector. They have a growing list of graduates which include many home-grown companies such as: Verafin, Mysa, Rutter, Genoa, HeyOrca! and so many more.

Mr. Speaker, supporting business start-ups helps create new jobs and opportunities and fosters innovation in our provincial economy. Through our Business Innovation Agenda and Technology Sector Work Plan, we are partnering with organizations such as Genesis to provide supports to innovation and entrepreneurial companies and to help create new businesses and employment opportunities.

Congratulations once again to Genesis. Thank you Mr. Speaker.