Every year, our team organizes regional pitch competitions that give post-secondary students and other members of the Kingston community, the opportunity to advance their early stage venture through funding and mentorship. In the annual Dunin-Deshpande Summer Pitch Competition, teams have the opportunity to receive non dilutive seed funding. Competitors will go through a series of rounds and receive coaching from the DDQIC team and members of the global network to improve their final pitch. During the final round of the competition, audience members are invited to watch and participate in choosing the winner of the Wisdom of Market Award - a prize given to the audience's favorite venture.
Regional applications to compete in the Final Pitch Competition are open now, apply here
Register to attend the Final Pitch Competition here
Eligibility
This competition is open to ventures at Queen's and in the Kingston region. Applicants from all disciplines and backgrounds are highly encouraged to apply. During the adjudication process, applicants will be assessed based on the impact their venture has on the Kingston community. Applicants must be based in Kingston and the surrounding region, but do NOT have to be associated with Queen's University.
Please note, only ventures who have been funded less than $30,000 (grants, pitch prizes, loans, equity) are eligible to compete for seed funding. For ventures that have already received funding from DDQIC previously, you can pitch again, but you cannot pitch for/be awarded less than you were previously awarded by DDQIC.
QICSI & B2S Pitch Competition
Tying for 3rd place and each receiving a prize of $10,000 each are Ponder (pndr.ca), and the chem tech startup Demagel.
Securing the 2nd place prizes of $15,000 are the women’s wellness marketing agency it's comma, and chem tech startup GLASQ!
A big congratulations to Hippo AI for winning the grand prize of $30,000! Their groundbreaking technology aims to help doctors work more efficiently and accurately in the work place.
We would like to thank all the teams for their hard work leading up to the competition and the judges: Mike Amos, Lexi Kaplin, and Anton Toutov for lending us their time and expertise. We look forward to the amazing things that these teams will do in their future!
JL MCF Pitch Competition
Results:
1st Place: Zuripack ($6,000 CAD) - Oliver Omondi
2nd Place: Organo ($5,000 CAD) - Milbert Mbalire Nabatanzi
3rd Place: Rim-Nextgen ($4,000 CAD) - Arnold Kabare
4th Place: Machoice Nigeria ($3,000 CAD) - Maryam Atolagbe
4th Place: Faster Fresh ($3,000 CAD) - augustine kojo wiredu
5th Place: Gro-gel ($1,000 CAD) - Rawlings Grace Ogenyi
5th Place: Farmsurance ($1,000 CAD) - Emmanuel SIKAVI
Audience Award 1: Care Link Daycare Services ($1,000 CAD) - Grace Nduta
Audience Award 2: Safe Harbor Babies Home ($1,000 CAD) - Sharon
Natukunda
Take a look at the watch party locations featured in the pictures! We’d like to thank our program coaches, mentors, and representatives who organized these amazing events on the ground!
- Lagos, Nigeria EGO Foundation Toluwase Olaniyan Oluwasegun Oluwaleti
- Gaborone, Botswana - University of Botswana Helen Chedza Chilisa MSc, Ae MBA, M.A. Tebogo Ketshabile
- Nairobi, Kenya - United States International University Africa Marie Jambawai
- Mbarara, Uganda - The Wit Technologies office The Wit Technologies Naturinda Emmanuel
- Cape Town, South Africa - Scalabrini Centre Avenvuka Mbu-letang Pascal
- Accra, Ghana - University of Ghana Business School (UGBS) Duncan Asamoah
- Kingston, Canada - Queen's University
- Zoom
Congratulations to all the 2023 JL MCF Fellows, we are inspired by your commitment and perseverance to create an impact in your communities through your creative ventures!
If you weren't able to attend, check out the recording here: https://lnkd.in/gKDzW9pn
Congratulations to all the finalists in our Summer Pitch Competition! Read about the award winners.
GRAND PRIZE WINNER - CO2L Tech - $30,000
DMB Translation Services - $15,000
Strictly Diabetic - $15,000
Armistice Biotherapeutics - $10,000
Kwela Brews - $10,000
Lotanna - $5,000
Canva Soap - $5,000
Campus Buy - $5,000
ARKE News - $5,000
BmDodo Strategic Design
DMB Translation Services - $10,000 in-kind
Strictly Diabetic - 5 hrs pro bono brand consulting
Canva Soap - 5 hrs pro bono brand consulting
CO2L Tech - 5 hrs pro bono brand consulting
We can’t forget about the Wisdom of the Market Award! Congrats to Verus for winning a $5000 prize for winning over the audience with your pitch