QRA Selected as Top 10 Tech Firm to Pilot Lazaridis Institute Program

The Lazaridis Institute has selected QRA Corp as one of Canada’s most promising emerging technology companies to participate in its inaugural Canadian Scale-Up Program. QRA is based in Halifax, NS, making it the only company to be selected outside of Ontario and Quebec. The highly anticipated program will bring high-potential firms together with an elite group of experts, all of whom have experience in scaling globally competitive enterprises.

“The QRA team is at a critical point for growth; we need to scale now in order to operationally handle the many incoming clients, countries, and industries,” said Jordan Kyriakidis, CEO & Co-founder of QRA. “We’re really very happy, honoured, and excited to have been chosen to pilot the Lazaridis Institute Canadian Scale-Up program.”

Canada is home to thousands of startups, but a recent survey from the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) found that only one in 1,000 Canadian small businesses grew beyond the 100-employee mark in 2013, a 40-per cent drop from 2001. Last year, only four Canadian technology companies went to IPO. These numbers do not bode well for the long term development of the tech ecosystem in Canada. The Lazaridis Institute Canadian Scale-Up Program is part of a broader effort to create conditions in Canada that will enable tech startups to thrive and grow without being bought, winding down prematurely or moving elsewhere.

A panel of experts consisting of venture capitalists and leading Canadian and American technology executives considered over 100 applications and video submissions to assess each firm’s potential for growth. A short list of applicants was invited to take part in video interviews with the selection panel, from which the top 10 companies were chosen.

The 10 selected firms are each at a key turning point in their growth trajectory. They hail from Montreal, Halifax, Waterloo, Toronto, Chatham and Ottawa. They have innovative, made-in-Canada technologies that solve critical problems, from managing hospital operations and optimizing complex system development, to creating better customer experiences, cybersecurity, and sourcing heavy construction equipment on an on-demand basis – to name just a few.

More information on the Lazaridis Institute Canadian Scale-Up Program can be found at lazaridisinstitute.wlu.ca/programs.