By Marcelo Bradaschia, co-founder of FintechLab
Recently, a tour organized by the Government of Ontario took Brazilian companies from the finance and technology sector to visit the city of Toronto, capital of Canada's main province. Representing FintechLab, one of the biggest advisory, research and innovation hub platforms for startups, companies and investors in the national fintech market, I had the opportunity to get to know the city of entrepreneurship and innovation in the fintech area.
The interests are diverse and Ontario has proved to be a place with countless possibilities. With a mature ecosystem, the connection between different actors is a great differentiator. An example of this is the model adopted by the University of Waterloo, one of the main references in education and training in the region. With more than 30 thousand students, its courses are divided into different areas of knowledge, with Engineering and Mathematics being among the most popular.
Today, Waterloo is one of the places that most contributes professionals to the main innovation centers in the world, as is the case of Silicon Valley, in the USA. This result is driven by some unique characteristics, such as its co-op model, which works as an internship, where students are encouraged (and in many required courses) to interchange practical activities in companies that hire them with teaching periods since the beginning of the course.
In addition, the university has a differentiated intellectual property policy, which ensures that students and teachers are the holders of the ideas and innovations created in its space. Unlike universities like MIT and Stanford, which own the intellectual property of the projects developed by their students and teachers, the Waterloo model is a great incentive for the development of new technologies and collaboration.
But does not stop there. The Waterloo region is home to Communitech, a non-profit innovation center that was once the birthplace of accelerating more than 1000 technology initiatives, as was the case with the Unicorn Vidyard. With a structure of more than 4500 square meters, its model proposes to be a connection hub between global brands, government agencies, incubators, accelerators and academic institutions. As an example, TD Bank, one of Canada's largest banks, has structured its innovation laboratory at Communitech.
Another reference to Ontario's innovation model is the MaRS Discovery District, the largest urban innovation hub in the world, aimed at supporting the launch of startups, research and innovation. Located in Toronto and a reference in the areas of healthtech and renewable energy, MaRS is now hosting more and more fintech initiatives and related topics.
The birth of new technologies has been a common theme in Ontario. Startups like Nuco.io, which has the ambition to become the AWS (Amazon Web Services) of the blockchain world, and NanoPay, a startup that was born out of a research project promoted by the Central Bank of Canada and today becomes a promising solution for exchanging virtual values.
Although Canada has a financial structure equivalent to that of Brazil, with market concentration in a few large players and primarily federal regulatory framework, there is a very active role for regulatory bodies to foster innovation. The Central Bank of Canada announced a few months ago that it was developing a version of the Canadian dollar on the blockchain. They are still research and tests, but the movement is an example of the approach that has been given to disruptive themes.
What is perhaps the biggest difference between Ontario and Brazil is the capacity of the location and the structured proximity between universities, private companies, startups, investors, accelerators, among others, in addition to the availability of resources, human and financial, to drive ideas for solutions in the market. Regardless of your company's interest or strategy, Canada has a versatile, prepared and accessible environment.
The interests are diverse and Ontario has proved to be a place with countless possibilities. With a mature ecosystem, the connection between different actors is a great differentiator. An example of this is the model adopted by the University of Waterloo, one of the main references in education and training in the region. With more than 30 thousand students, its courses are divided into different areas of knowledge, with Engineering and Mathematics being among the most popular.
Today, Waterloo is one of the places that most contributes professionals to the main innovation centers in the world, as is the case of Silicon Valley, in the USA. This result is driven by some unique characteristics, such as its co-op model, which works as an internship, where students are encouraged (and in many required courses) to interchange practical activities in companies that hire them with teaching periods since the beginning of the course.
In addition, the university has a differentiated intellectual property policy, which ensures that students and teachers are the holders of the ideas and innovations created in its space. Unlike universities like MIT and Stanford, which own the intellectual property of the projects developed by their students and teachers, the Waterloo model is a great incentive for the development of new technologies and collaboration.
But does not stop there. The Waterloo region is home to Communitech, a non-profit innovation center that was once the birthplace of accelerating more than 1000 technology initiatives, as was the case with the Unicorn Vidyard. With a structure of more than 4500 square meters, its model proposes to be a connection hub between global brands, government agencies, incubators, accelerators and academic institutions. As an example, TD Bank, one of Canada's largest banks, has structured its innovation laboratory at Communitech.
Another reference to Ontario's innovation model is the MaRS Discovery District, the largest urban innovation hub in the world, aimed at supporting the launch of startups, research and innovation. Located in Toronto and a reference in the areas of healthtech and renewable energy, MaRS is now hosting more and more fintech initiatives and related topics.
The birth of new technologies has been a common theme in Ontario. Startups like Nuco.io, which has the ambition to become the AWS (Amazon Web Services) of the blockchain world, and NanoPay, a startup that was born out of a research project promoted by the Central Bank of Canada and today becomes a promising solution for exchanging virtual values.
Although Canada has a financial structure equivalent to that of Brazil, with market concentration in a few large players and primarily federal regulatory framework, there is a very active role for regulatory bodies to foster innovation. The Central Bank of Canada announced a few months ago that it was developing a version of the Canadian dollar on the blockchain. They are still research and tests, but the movement is an example of the approach that has been given to disruptive themes.
What is perhaps the biggest difference between Ontario and Brazil is the capacity of the location and the structured proximity between universities, private companies, startups, investors, accelerators, among others, in addition to the availability of resources, human and financial, to drive ideas for solutions in the market. Regardless of your company's interest or strategy, Canada has a versatile, prepared and accessible environment.
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