After reviewing an incredible 187 nominations, 59 finalists from 47 companies have been selected for ten award categories.

The finalists in each category will be now reviewed by a panel of delegates from VIATEC, Island Women in Science and Technology (iWIST), Women’s Equity Lab, Capital Investment Network (CIN), Alacrity Canada, and UVic’s Coast Capital Innovation Centre.

Among the finalists for Anchor Company of the Year (30+ employees) are Certn, Checkfront, and Cuboh.

Victoria’s Certn, a leader in background screening solutions, secured a USD $50 million Series B funding round earlier this year and was added to Communitech’s first ever Team True North list which indicates they are tracking to $1 billion in annual revenue.

The Growth Company of the Year category includes Cognito Health, MarineLabs, and VINN.

Co-founded by Jason Cridge and Armon Arani, Cognito Health is on a mission to change the way mental healthcare is provided to all Canadians. The Victoria-based startup raised a $1.1 million pre-seed round in 2022 that included local angel investors Rasool Rayani, Andrew Wilkinson, and Tobyn Sowden.

In the running for Startup of the Year are seven companies including Audette, Frontly, MeepMeep, and Origen Air.

Audette’s end-to-end platform captures data to identify and assess opportunities for low-carbon building improvements and helps building owners source financing and incentives that reduce the cost of retrofit projects by up to 90%. The Victoria cleantech startup raised a $12.8 million funding round in 2022.

The Victoria Tech Community Awards will take place on Thursday, December 8th in Carson Hall at the Victoria Conference Centre.

Check out the complete list of 59 finalists from 47 companies that have been selected for ten award categories here.