The second annual #BCTECH Summit on March 14-15, has sold out, with more than 5,000 participants expected over the two-day showcase of made-in-British Columbia technology, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Held at the Vancouver Convention Centre, the Summit features more than 220 speakers from around the world and over 300 exhibitors, including B.C. technology companies, research labs, and post-secondary institutions.

In addition to showing off technological innovations, the event is facilitating more than 200 business-to-business meetings between small- and medium-sized companies with larger technology firms and government agencies. More than 1,500 school-aged learners from throughout the province will also be participating in various Youth Innovation Day activities on March 15.

The Summit will kick off March 13 with #BCTECH on the Terrace, a free public celebration of technology and culture, open to the entire community. The event will take place from 5 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at Jack Poole Plaza. The free event will feature the lighting of the Olympic and Paralympic Cauldron at 5:30 p.m. and will also feature live music out of the Traction on Demand Airstream, drinks, food trucks and fire dancers.

The #BCTECH Summit is jointly hosted by the B.C. government and its Crown agency, the British Columbia Innovation Council. The event is a commitment in the #BCTECH Strategy to fuel B.C.’s growing tech sector by improving access to capital for promising companies, developing tech talent and improving market access.

Quotes:

Amrik Virk, Minister of Technology, Innovation and Citizens' Services –

"This is the tech event of the year with a record number of participating companies, speakers, students and business-to-government meetings to generate partnerships and potential business deals. The summit is also an opportunity to raise the profile of B.C. globally as a jurisdiction with mature, identifiable tech giants and exciting growing start-ups."

Carl Anderson, president and CEO, B.C. Innovation Council – 

“I’m excited to see such significant interest from technology companies, research institutions, and students from across the province. Made-in B.C. technology and business acumen is gaining global attention and the #BCTECH Summit is a phenomenal display of the strength of our sector.”

Quick Facts:

• #BCTECH Summit 2016’s B2B meetings resulted in an estimated $4M in investment, 33 new jobs and more than $800,000 in deal flow.
• British Columbia’s tech sector employment eclipsed 100,000 for the first time in 2015, rising 2.9% to 101,780.
• B.C. tech workers earn a weekly average salary of $1,590 – 75% higher than the average wage in B.C., and higher than the Canadian technology sector average of $1,480/week.
• British Columbia saw a 1.9% rise in the number of new technology companies with employees in 2015, growing to over 9,900 businesses.
• The tech sector produced approximately $26.3 billion in revenue in 2015, a rise of 5%.
• B.C.’s tech-commodity exports increased by 20.4% to just under $1.4 billion, representing 3.8% of the province’s overall exports.

Learn More:

• #BCTECH Summit : http://bctechsummit.ca/
• #BCTECH Strategy : https://bctechstrategy.gov.bc.ca/
• #BCTECHSummit live webcast : https://bctechstrategy.gov.bc.ca/live/
• BC Jobs Plan Update: http://engage.gov.bc.ca/bcjobsplan/economy/progress-reports/
• Profile of the British Columbia Technology Sector: 2016 Edition: http://www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca/StatisticsBySubject/BusinessIndustry/HighTechnology.aspx