VANCOUVER, Feb. 16, 2017 /CNW/ - The BC Innovation Council—a Crown agency of the Province— is helping B.C. companies find solutions to the challenges they face through a seven-city Regional Innovation Opportunities tour that arrives in Castlegar today.

The tour is bringing real opportunities to businesses in seven regions throughout the province. It's bringing together over 20 companies and local business owners to gain access and insight to not only potential customers, but also global customer markets.

Home to the Rossland-based Kootenay Association for Science and Technology (KAST), a member of the BC Innovation Council's BC Acceleration Network, the West Kootenays is a blossoming tech community.

The tour is giving West Kootenay businesses the chance to collaborate with larger companies, government agencies and entrepreneurs, to find solutions to their business challenges. It is also an opportunity for companies to network and build their businesses, leading to possible job opportunities and business markets that could expose companies to national and worldwide markets.

"From east to west, our province is filled with passionate innovators and it's important they can grow their business where they live," said Carl Anderson, president & CEO, BC Innovation Council. "Through the Regional Innovation Opportunity tour, we're creating opportunities for them to succeed."

Examples of the companies and the types of challenges they are presenting in include:

• IBM, seeking a way to track the location of their technicians during field operations.
• Snap Up Real Estate, seeking a way to extract addresses and other useful information from Open Street Map.
• Seniors Outreach and Support (SOS), seeking innovative and potentially technical approaches to nutrition and socialization.

"The Regional Innovation Opportunities tour is bringing business opportunities to West Kootenay companies and its communities," said Amrik Virk, Minister of Technology, Innovation and Citizens' Services. "Tech is driving our economy and this tour will connect local technology innovators with government and industry to create opportunities to collaborate and grow jobs."

The first-of-its-kind tour will build a stronger network of tech companies throughout the province, giving local businesses in communities outside the Lower Mainland an opportunity to showcase their innovation province-wide and build their businesses in the communities they know and love.

The Regional Innovation Opportunities tour will have visited six other communities between February 2 – March 6, 2017, including Prince George, Victoria, Kamloops, Terrace, Kelowna and Nanaimo. For more information about the challenges and the opportunities they represent, visit: bcic.ca/regional-innovation-opportunities

About BC Innovation Council (www.bcic.ca)  
The BC Innovation Council accelerates the growth and success of B.C. companies by providing resources and market opportunities for applied innovations that solve challenges and drive competitiveness in B.C. industries. Through the annual #BCTECH Summit and support of the B.C. government's #BCTECH Strategy, BCIC is fostering the growth of competitive companies that generate revenue, produce high-paying skilled jobs and drive economic development in B.C.

SOURCE BC Innovation Council

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