Welcome to this week’s Thursday Feature. In this issue, meet the capital region's innovators who are winning awards across the continent, as well as an interest-free government financing opportunity, and another option to get you home from YYJ.

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Local leaders are getting international attention

Move over, Vancouver: Victoria has some leaders on the rise. Those of us on the ground already know of our local changemakers, but two innovators are currently in the spotlight and helping expand the reach of Victoria tech beyond B.C.'s capital.

Juan Orrego was just awarded a Forbes 30 under 30 award in enterprise technology. Orrego is the founder and CEO of Cuboh, a software company that consolidates third-party ordering platforms into one hub for restaurants to use. He is the only Victoria innovator on the list(!)

That's not to say all of the innovation is happening in the private sector — Emilie de Rosenroll, CEO of the South Island Prosperity Partnership (SIPP) and the Centre for Ocean Applied Sustainable Technologies (COAST) was named as a finalist for the 2022 RBC Canadian Entrepreneur Awards. De Rosenroll was nominated for the Social Change Award at the Regional Impact level, alongside leaders across the country.

Last but not least is Delta-X Research, a software company supporting the electric utilities industry. The venture won the 2022 North American Enabling Technology Leadership Award for its dissolved gas analysis software, given by market research company Frost & Sullivan. The award recognizes the company's Transformer Oil Analyst technology for its ability to help utilities optimize budgets and prioritize asset replacement or upgrade.

Stay tuned because the national accolades could continue. Two Victoria companies are in Toronto for the MaRS Climate Impact Conference — Solaires and Cascadia Seaweed — vying for the Climate Impact Awards. The conference has drawn investors from all over the world who are interested in Canada's technology that can help adapt and mitigate climate change. Sahar Sam of Solaires is pitching investors at the seed stage, while Rob Napoli of Cascadia is pitching those funding Series A. Let's cheer them on remotely, as the winners are announced later today!

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📰 More Victoria innovation news

💸 Free money! Looking to expand both domestically and internationally? PacifiCan wants to support you with reimbursable, interest-free financing. The Business Scale-up and Productivity program has just opened applications for high-growth companies that are scaling up. Learn more.

🚕 Travelling home from the airport? YYJ now has two ride-hailing services: Richmond-based Kabu recently started offering its services at the airport, as ride-hailing heavyweights Uber and Lyft are currently not licensed to operate. Learn more.

🕴️ Tech jobs of the week

Find your next career:

• Cloud (Microsft 365) Specialist at City of Victoria

• Software Developer at UVic

• IT Projects Budget Analyst at BC Transit

• Systems Software Developer at Polaris Motion

Hiring in Victoria? Reply to this email and let us know!

📅 Upcoming events

December 1: 2022 Diversity in Tech Dashboard Results

December 8: 2022 Victoria Tech Community Awards

Have an upcoming event? Reply to let us know.