About Vice-Principal ResearchFor immediate release
May 31, 2022
Kingston Ranks Top Small City in Canada for Startup Ecosystem
Kingston’s startup ecosystem ranks among the top ten in Canada.
Kingston, Ontario – May 31, 2022 – StartupBlink released their 2022 global startup ecosystem rankings of 100 countries and 1,000 cities at a virtual conference in London, UK.
For a second year in a row, Kingston ranks 9th in Canada (183rd globally) in the Global Ecosystem Index Report for its startup ecosystem. Notably, Kingston is the leading small city (100,000 – 300,000 population) for its startup ecosystem.
Kingston leads a strong sector-based ranking being 4th in Canada for Healthtech (79th globally), 6th in Canada for Energy & Environment (59th globally) and 7th in Canada for Hardware & IoT industries (85th globally). Kingston also ranks 70th in North America for its startup ecosystem and Canada ranks 4th globally.
“It’s great to see Kingston continue to rank well in the StartupBlink Ecosystem report,” says Mayor Paterson. “This kind of ecosystem doesn’t happen by accident – it requires partnership, collaboration, and strategic initiatives to build an atmosphere that fosters innovation and entrepreneurship – and I’m very proud of the investments made community-wide to achieve this.”
The Global Startup Ecosystem Index by StartupBlink has been updated annually since 2017 and is the world’s most comprehensive startup ecosystem ranking of 1,000 cities and 100 countries ranked by data points in an index ranking. The Global Startup Ecosystem Index is built using hundreds of thousands of data points processed by an algorithm which takes into account several dozens of parameters.
StartupBlink noted that Kingston is an inspiring city that punches over its weight for a small city with a population between 100,000 - 300,000 along with Santa Barbara (USA), Cambridge (UK), Boulder (USA) and Burlington (USA).
“We are honoured once again to see Kingston ranking positively in a global context. Kingston is very positioned for startups to tap into international opportunities and the attraction of global entrepreneurs. Kingston Economic Development with our many ecosystem partners provides tremendous support for startup investment and ensure resources and opportunities are available for Kingston companies to scale globally,” says Donna Gillespie, CEO, Kingston Economic Development Corporation.
StartupBlink acknowledged that there are over 166 startups in Kingston and highlighted Li-Cycle which was founded in 2016 in Kingston, where the city’s ecosystem played an essential role in supporting Li-Cycle’s growth with GreenCentre Canada and Kingston Process Metallurgy from concept to commercialization. Li-Cycle recently announced that they are expanding their operations and opening a Centre of Excellence in Kingston’s new Clogg’s Road Business Park.
StartupBlink also noted Elentra and Kings Distributed Systems. Elentra is a cloud-based teaching aid, scheduling system and assessment tool all-in-one. Elentra was originally developed at Queen’s University and now used all around the world. Elentra empowers academic institutions to train the next generation of health-care professionals to better serve patients and advance medical research.
Kings Distributed Systems is a Kingston-based tech start-up founded in 2017 developing a JavaScript and Web Assembly based distributed compute platform to accelerate Canadian science, innovation and discovery.
“Queen’s University is a catalyst for advancing research, innovation, knowledge mobilization, and entrepreneurship”, says Jim Banting, Assistant Vice-Principal, Partnerships and Innovation. We are pleased to work with numerous partners in our innovation ecosystem to deliver a wide range of programs and services to support entrepreneurs and accelerate the growth of startups and SMEs in our region. Kingston’s ranking in the 2022 Global Ecosystem Index Report recognizes the strength and impact of our ecosystem, and we look forward to continued collaborations that support the health and growth of our regional economy.”
Media Contact:
Nour Mazloum
Marketing & Communications Officer
Kingston Economic Development Corporation
613-329-9270
mazloum@kingstoncanada.com
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About Kingston Economic Development Corporation
Kingston Economic Development Corporation is focused on building a strong community and supporting Kingston’s thriving economy. Its mission is to provide dynamic and collaborative leadership by leveraging Kingston's unique assets to create jobs and investments in order to sustain, grow, and transform Kingston's economy to meet the needs of the 21st century.