TEC Edmonton and TusStar Partner to Bring the International Market to Alberta
An incubator meant to bridge the gap to one of the world’s largest foreign markets has opened its doors in Alberta.
The TEC Edmonton-TusStar Accelerator Exchange is now ready to offer training and support to help businesses enter the Chinese market and break down any kinds of barriers, whether that means language, regulatory, IP and more.
TEC Edmonton is an accelerator that helps new tech companies scale effectively and is a joint venture run by the University of Alberta and the Edmonton Economic Development Corporation. In the middle of last year, TEC Edmonton partnered with Merck Canada to launch a medtech accelerator. TEC Edmonton partnered with Tsinghua University in China and its TusStar innovation incubator to help both of their clients grow their international presences and enter into new markets.
“This agreement, and its links to two excellent universities, will bring new investment to Canada and develop new export markets for Alberta technology companies,” said TEC Edmonton CEO Chris Lumb.
This agreement came about from a delegation in China led by Alberta Premier Rachel Notley to make sure that a leading objective from the two incubators will be to advance future sustainability.
TusStar is a brand of Tus Holdings, the investment arm of Tsinghua University. It is the largest network of university science parks in the world with over 80 bases including several accelerators around China.
“Based on the collaborative platform, we will enhance the exchange of start-ups, and help them develop in technology and commercialization to contribute more to society in the future,” said Jay Lin, director of international cooperation for Tus Holdings.
The exchange program will run for six months and offer networking and interaction with leading entrepreneurs in both China and Canada through workshops, soft and post-landing services, and consultations. Essentially, if a Canadian company wants to launch in China, this accelerator will provide information regarding the best regions to launch and how to attract the attention of both investors and clients.
“TusStar Alberta will play a key role in connecting the Canadian and Chinese markets,” said Jinsheng Zhang, chairman of TusStar. “Both TEC Edmonton and TusStar have strong backgrounds, professional incubation experience and profound resources.”
Four Edmonton companies are already enrolled in the exchange—Juniper, VADU, ClickDishes and Direct-C.
Tsinghua University, where TusStar is located, is ranked the seventh-best university in the world, and the best in China.
