VANCOUVER, BC – New Ventures BC last night awarded Vancouver-based UrbanLogiq with the $10,000 City Innovation Prize sponsored by the Vancouver Economic Commission (VEC) as part of the BCIC-New Ventures Competition. Our company uses the power of city data, which is usually sitting untapped within bureaucratized silos, to make urban planning faster, cheaper, and more efficient. We do this by aggregating government data from across departments, adding external information sources, and applying machine learning analytics to automate city workflows and provide actionable urban intelligence.
For young companies like UrbanLogiq, which is barely one year old, market, product and vision validation from a highly-reputable third-party is welcome. This is especially true for entrepreneurs who venture into the challenging government technology space. The fact that the VEC has both a reward and a program dedicated to supporting this burgeoning sector is demonstrative to us, as it should to other aspiring entrepreneurs, that government is willing and waiting to adopt innovation. You just need the right support, foresight, and encouragement from your community.
That is why we are so humble and grateful for this award from the VEC. Since we moved our headquarters to our office space in Gastown, after first opening our doors in Surrey, BC, in 2016, and then graduating from 500 Startups in San Francisco earlier this year, we have been surrounded by such a welcoming Vancouver startup community. It has been an experience unlike any other. As we continue to live through the amazing journey of growing a startup firsthand, we know for a fact that Vancouver is a deserving and competitive member of the global upper echelon of startup communities.
The City Innovation Prize recognizes the top-performing venture with a primary market or potential primary market of city departments and/or agencies. UrbanLogiq wants to thank New Ventures BC and the Vancouver Economic Commission for the recognition and award.
Leah Hanvey
Leah Hanvey is the Business Development lead for UrbanLogiq, a data analytics platform for urban planners and municipal governments. With extensive experience in government and politics, Leah has worked for the Government of Canada as policy advisor to a federal cabinet minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. Leah also has worked in corporate finance advisory services for a Big Four firm, city-level economic development, and political campaigns. Leah is a graduate of the Gustavson School of Business at the University of Victoria.
