BRAMPTON, ON (June 9, 2023) – The City of Brampton completed its first successful in-person investment mission to Ireland, where City officials met with prospective investors and business partners.
The mission was led by Regional Councillors Michael Palleschi, and Dennis Kennan led the mission and included representation from Brampton BHive – the City’s soft-landing spot for international start-ups – Innovation District partner Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst, and City of Brampton’s Economic Development Office.
The delegation traveled to Galway, Dublin, and Belfast and met with leading companies, business associations, thought leaders, regulators, senior trade officials, and universities, focusing on promoting Brampton’s health and life sciences sector as well as its location as a soft-landing spot for international start-ups. Discussions focused on digital health transformation, specifically in artificial intelligence, MedTech manufacturing, R&D, and clinical trials, as well as opportunities in Brampton’s Innovation District, the forthcoming Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) School of Medicine, and the recently launched City of Brampton MedTech Task Force.
In Galway – an internationally-recognized hub for MedTech – the delegation met with Medtronic, a leading international company in the MedTech sector with Canadian operations headquartered in Brampton. Medtronic develops treatment of over 70 of the world’s most complex and challenging conditions across four portfolios of solutions in cardiovascular, diabetes, medical-surgical, and neuroscience.
The delegation also met with senior academics from the University of Galway to showcase BHive’s capabilities in MedTech and soft-landing global start-ups and extend an invitation to attend the forthcoming Collision Conference in Toronto. BHive is a sector-agnostic incubator-accelerator and seeks to support startups from Ireland into Canada and help ease their transition into the North American market by setting up and scaling in Brampton. Since its founding in 2021, BHive has brought in over 58 start-ups from eight countries through its Global Entrepreneur Incubation Program, which provides support, mentorship, and funding to help start-ups scale and grow in Canada.
In Dublin, the Brampton delegation met with several associations and ecosystem partners, including the Irish MedTech Association, the Ireland Canada Business Association, the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, the Guinness Enterprise Centre, and Dogpatch Labs.
The City of Brampton also participated in the Dublin Tech Summit, a marquis tech event with over 200 expert speakers, 150 start-ups, and networking events. During the Summit, Brampton BHive announced that it would be the world’s first start-up incubator on Metaverse, and the City was able to differentiate itself as a leader in cybersecurity through the Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst. As part of an exhibit area with over 50 partners, the City positioned the Brampton Innovation District as a destination for start-ups to soft-land, scale, and access the North American market.
In Belfast, the delegation met with member companies of the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce, Trade, Entrepreneur, and Tech leads from Invest Northern Ireland, Innovation Brokers from the Belfast City Council and the Catalyst, Belfast’s Innovation Centre in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter. Discussions centered on Brampton’s strength as a national centre of excellence for cybersecurity and future collaboration opportunities with the Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst.
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