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Accelerator Centre Ranked as a World Top Performing Accelerator by UBI Global

The Accelerator Centre (AC) is pleased to announce that it has been recognized as a World Top 5 – Public/Private Business Accelerator by UBI Global for 6th year.

January 24, 2023

January 24, 2023 - Waterloo, ON — Accelerator Centre (AC) is pleased to announce that it has been recognized as a World Top 5 – Public/Private Business Accelerator by UBI Global as assessed in the World Benchmark Study 2021-2022.

UBI Global is a Stockholm-based research and innovation intelligence company known for the assessment and mapping of business incubators and accelerators worldwide. The ranking, based on a benchmarking study that included over 1,800 programs, was announced this morning at UBI Global's rankings ceremony in Belgium.

The achievement of top-ranked status among peer programs, which the AC has held since 2017, means that the organization demonstrates continued exceptional value for client startups, value for the local ecosystem, and overall attractiveness as a startup and innovation hub.

“Following a rigorous data-driven approach, we assessed and benchmarked incubation organizations across the world,” says Joshuah Sowah, Head of Research at UBI Global. ”Our study is in tune with the multiple facets of the international incubation ecosystem and illustrates critical challenges and opportunities the participating organizations face.”

Since 2006, the Accelerator Centre has worked with over 750 startups. AC alumni represent the best of the best in Canadian tech, including giants like ApplyBoard, Axonify, Magnet Forensics, SSIMWAVE, Ecopia.ai, Miovision, and Intellijoint. Accelerator Centre portfolio companies have created more than 5,000 full-time jobs, attracted $1.8B+ in investments, and have a combined valuation of more than $5B.

“We are tremendously proud to be selected as one of the World’s Top 5 Public/Private Business Accelerators,” said Jay Krishnan, CEO of the AC. “This award is external validation of what we already know — that Waterloo is among the best places in the world to build a business. The recognition is the outcome of the incredible success of our founders and the hard work of our world-class team.”

"Our amazing community of founders, funders, corporate partners, mentors, and staff team are a big part of why we have been recognized by UBI Global yet again this year,” says Tabatha Laverty, VP of Marketing and External Relations. “This recognition is a key steppingstone on our path to building the #1 full stack startup hub in the world and we’re excited to continue working with the international community our partnership with UBI Global to share our lessons learned and help grow companies."

In addition to providing key metrics on performance and impact that business incubators and accelerators use to improve their programs, the study ranks incubators and accelerators in the following categories:

  • World Top University Business Incubators

  • World Top Public/Private Business Incubator

  • World Top University Business Accelerator

  • World Top Public/Private Business Accelerator

The AC is joined in the World Top 5 Public/Private Business Accelerator category by:

For the full World Rankings Report 2021-2022 of business incubators and accelerators, please visit https://www.worldbenchmarkstudy.com/

About UBI Global

UBI Global is a Swedish-based innovation intelligence company and community specializing in mapping, highlighting, and connecting the world of business incubation. Through a community of more than 1,000 member organizations from over 90 countries worldwide, UBI Global provides matchmaking, ranking, benchmarking, and research services to corporations and business incubation organizations.

About Accelerator Centre

At the AC, we exist to help ambitious dreamers impact global change through their businesses. The AC is ranked Canada’s #1 private business accelerator and is among the top five such organizations globally. We offer an extensive selection of customizable opportunities for startups across Canada—allowing founders to rapidly bring their innovation to life. We work with our global partners to bolster the innovation ecosystem in Waterloo and beyond.

Media Contacts

Tabatha Laverty
VP, Marketing and External Relations
[email protected]

Angela Partridge
Manager, Communications
[email protected]