Innovative entrepreneurship hub Ax.c announces a strategic partnership with Platform Calgary, which supports startups in Alberta’s largest city through its programs and innovation centre. This reciprocal agreement will make it easier for startups to move between Montreal and Calgary, and will give them access to the spaces, networks and communities of both organizations.
This partnership rests on a shared conviction: Canada has everything to gain from being better connected from within. At a time when strengthening economic ties between provinces has become a priority, Ax.c and Platform Calgary are betting on interprovincial collaboration to help startups move, get noticed and do business more easily across the country.
In practical terms, Ax.c member startups will be able to work out of the Platform Innovation Centre, Calgary’s home for tech in the East Village, and use its meeting spaces when they’re in Calgary on business. Platform Calgary members will receive the same welcome in downtown Montreal, at Ax.c. Ax.c and Platform Calgary will also open their expert sessions, networking activities and ecosystem events to each other’s communities.
Beyond physical spaces, this is about networks coming together. Ax.c and Platform Calgary are committed to facilitating targeted introductions to partners, investors, incubators and accelerators within their ecosystems. For a Quebec startup looking to expand into Western Canada, or an Alberta company aiming to break into the Quebec market, these first open doors can make all the difference.
“In Quebec, when we talk about going international, we often think of anything outside Quebec. We sometimes forget that Canada is our first playing field. Our startups have everything to gain from getting to know the ecosystems of Calgary and Western Canada, and the reverse is just as true. With Platform Calgary, we want to make interprovincial collaboration simple, natural and concrete: a place to set up shop, a community that welcomes you, contacts who open doors. That’s how we build a stronger, more united Canadian ecosystem,” said Geneviève Leclerc, Director of Ax.c.
“Founders are building companies that don’t stop at provincial borders. By partnering with Ax.c, we’re creating a direct link between Calgary and Montreal, two dynamic ecosystems with a lot to offer each other. Our members will be able to count on a welcoming community in Quebec, and we’re proud to host Ax.c startups in Calgary. This is the kind of collaboration that drives innovation across the country,” said Jennifer Lussier, CEO of Platform Calgary.
Concluded for an initial one-year term, this agreement marks a new milestone in the growth of Ax.c’s network. Following DMZ, which connects Montreal to Toronto, New York and Tokyo, the addition of Platform Calgary reaffirms Ax.c’s ambition: to be the home of Quebec’s tech entrepreneurs and the province’s world-renowned destination for innovation.
