Invest Nova Scotia Accelerate

Invest Nova Scotia Accelerate is a milestone-based program designed to help Nova Scotia start-ups become investment-ready. Delivered virtually, this program supports high-potential start-ups through funding, resources, and expert guidance.

📅 Key Dates

• Date Published: July 7, 2025
• Application Deadline: July 22, 2025

📝 About Invest Nova Scotia Accelerate

Invest Nova Scotia Accelerate is a five-month sprint program aimed at helping Nova Scotia start-ups achieve investment readiness. Participating companies receive up to $40,000 in non-dilutive, non-repayable funding to address key technical and business milestones.

Focus Sectors

The program focuses on five key sectors where participants can leverage in-house expertise and a network of experts and investors:

• Agriculture Tech: Start-ups addressing global food production challenges while reducing dependency on fossil fuels or petrochemicals.
• Clean Tech: Start-ups tackling climate change and ensuring clean air, water, and soil.
• Health Tech: Start-ups developing new therapeutics, medical devices, or digital health technologies to solve unmet healthcare needs.
• Ocean Tech: Start-ups creating solutions in ocean health, fisheries, aquaculture, offshore energy, shipborne technologies, and marine bioresources.
• Software: Start-ups leveraging AI, computer vision, blockchain, or data network effects to solve large unmet market needs.

🎁 Benefits of Invest Nova Scotia Accelerate

Participants in the program enjoy the following benefits:

1. Funding: Up to $40,000 in non-dilutive, non-repayable funding.
2. Acceleration Activities: Access to tailored resources and activities.
3. Workshops: Industry-specific workshops on topics such as human resources, IP strategy, raising capital, and storytelling.
4. Advisory Support: Meetings with advisors from a network of sector-focused investment and technology commercialization executives.
5. Perks Program: Discounts from over 100 vendors, including Hubspot, Google Cloud, Zoom, Slack, AWS, and more.

A minimum of five awards is expected in the current round.

✅ Eligibility Criteria

Location

• Applicants must be Nova Scotia-based and registered as a business in good standing with the Nova Scotia Registry of Joint Stock Companies (RJSC).
• The majority of the workforce and senior leadership must reside in Nova Scotia.

Financing

• Less than $1 million in cumulative sales.
• Less than $250,000 in equity investment (including convertible debt) raised to date.

Stage

• Applicants should have identified a large market pain and opportunity, established a company around a customer-validated solution, and achieved proof of concept or a minimum viable product (MVP).

People

• Entrants must be majority owners (51% or more) of the company and plan to work full-time with the business.

🔍 Selection Criteria

Submissions will be evaluated based on the following:

1. Management Team: Skillset, entrepreneurial track record, and capacity to develop the company.
2. Market Pain and Value Proposition: Problem size, solution uniqueness, and customer value proposition.
3. Market Opportunity and Business Model: Target customers, revenue model, and market size.
4. Competition and Go-to-Market Strategy: Competitive analysis, barriers to entry, and pricing strategy.
5. Milestones and Success Metrics: Detailed plan and budget for up to $40,000.
6. Capital Requirements and Investment Potential: Feasible execution plan and high-growth potential.

📋 Application Process

1. Customer Number: First-time applicants must contact Kaitlin Webb to request a Customer Number.
2. Required Information: Applicants will need payroll and revenue details (if applicable).
3. Submission: Applications must be submitted online.

Apply Now

📌 Application Deadline

July 22, 2025

🌐 Additional Information

For more details, visit the Invest Nova Scotia Accelerate Program.

• Participating companies receive up to $40,000 in non-dilutive, non-repayable funding.
• Access to a series of acceleration activities and resources tailored to the cohort's needs.
• Meetings with advisors matched from a network of sector-focused investment and technology commercialization executives.
• Workshops on investment-readiness topics tailored to the cohort participants’ industries and needs.
• Perks Program offering discounts to 100+ vendors such as Hubspot, Google Cloud, Zoom, Slack, AWS, and more.