A Closer Look at Canada’s Seven True Startup Accelerators

Over the past three years, dozens of accelerators and accelerator-like programs have emerged in Canada. However, there is debate about their value—do accelerators hurt startups, and can the accelerators themselves succeed?

New research by MaRS Data Catalyst this week provided a “fact-based foundation for discussion.” The report cites Canada as having seven “true” accelerators: GrowLab in Vancouver; Hyperdrive in Waterloo; FounderFuel in Montreal; and Extreme Startups, INcubes, Jolt, and Utest in Toronto.

Check out MaRS’ visualization of Canadian accelerator data below, including how many offer equity for funding, how big the ecosystem is in terms of mentors and founders, and the selection process.