About Us

Building the national network that connects, strengthens, and amplifies Canada’s accelerators and incubators.

Mission

Be an impact-driven network that supports the growth of accelerators and incubators across Canada through collaboration, education, connection, and national and international stakeholder strategic exchanges.

Vision

A network of sustainable and successful accelerators and incubators across Canada, marking Canada as an international leader in values-driven innovation and ecosystem growth.

CAIN’s Story

Stacey started the Canadian Accelerator and Incubator Network (CAIN) while in her role as the Director of Venture Programs at the BC Tech Association. CAIN emerged from the small group of accelerators and incubators (including BC Tech) that received funding through the Canada Accelerator and Incubator Program. Stacey worked with this initial group of leaders and other stakeholders to build CAIN as a not-for-profit association with an inclusive national network of over 165 Canadian accelerators and incubators. Throughout, CAIN has been an equal opportunity network with free membership to allow all sizes and types of incubators and accelerators to participate.

Our vision, to make Canada an international leader in values-driven innovation and ecosystem growth, requires a long-term plan. We started back in 2019 with monthly meetings to build a sense of community and channels of communication across the new network. This led to the co-creation of regional membership councils and seven working groups with our members, based on the top priority areas they had identified. Based on their findings and other internal research conducted by CAIN, we are now entering a new phase: building solutions.

We are really proud of how far we’ve come as a national community and are excited about what’s increasingly possible when we work together!

Our Team

Stacey Wallin(she/her)

Founder + Board Chair

Founder and Board Chair of CAIN, with extensive experience in nonprofit management, advocacy, and innovation ecosystem development. During her time as CEO at CAIN from 2017 to 2023, she grew the organization’s membership to over 150 organizations, representing over 90% of Canada’s accelerator and incubator market. Under her leadership, CAIN secured a federal government contract to collect innovation data and generate policy recommendations, and launched seven national working groups addressing critical issues including access to capital and talent development. She informed amendments to Canada’s Startup Visa program with the Ministry of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada. Currently, as CEO of Psychedelic Safety Institute, Stacey continues her commitment to driving systemic change in mental health. Her career spans finance, innovation and implementation, health tech, policy advocacy, and psychedelics.

Ian McDonald(he/him)

Co-Founder + Executive Director

A recognized expert in business and product strategy, marketing, partnerships, and emerging industries. He has extensive international experience developing emerging markets, commercializing products, and building partnerships.

Johanna Lau

Manager of Stakeholder Relations

Manager of Stakeholder Relations at CAIN, where she supports strategic initiatives to share ecosystem learnings and strengthen member relations. A recent graduate of McGill University’s BCom program with concentrations in Sustainability and Social Enterprise Strategy, Johanna has a background in community engagement and research on social enterprise financial sustainability.

Mirai Fukushima

Data Analyst

Matt Mayer

Advisor & Research Lead

Advisor & Research Lead. A 2-time founder and leader in strategy, innovation, and organizational excellence. Doctor of Business Administration. Faculty member of University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy.

Board of Directors

Tom Ogaranko(he/him)

Board Vice-Chair

Founder of Challenge Ventures, accelerates sustainability solutions through innovation challenges, digital tools, and systems thinking. He develops carbon roadmap strategies for global agri-food and bioenergy companies, advises a $150M impact fund for Métis Settlements, and serves on the board of a circular-economy bio-industrial park in Edmonton. Trained as a lawyer, Tom has built analytics and software firms, co-developing the Challenge Dialogue System, now used globally to align diverse stakeholders behind bold innovation.

Carl Schmidt(he/him)

Board Member

A technologist and entrepreneur who loves building things that last. He co-founded Unbounce and spent nearly 13 years as its CTO, leading the company from startup to scale and making it one of the first SaaS platforms to bring AI into marketing. Along the way, he spoke to audiences across North and South America about technology, entrepreneurship, and the future of marketing. Beyond startups, Carl has guided nonprofit organizations through pivotal transitions, including chairing the board of Hope Lutheran Christian School during a period of renewal and growth. Today, he explores the intersections of technology, creativity, and community — from hands-on engineering projects and sustainability ventures to hosting folk concerts in his basement pub.

Jennifer Davis(she/her)

Board Member

A management consultant focused on deepening collaboration and innovation to drive the equitable transition to a low carbon economy. Over her 20-year career, Jennifer has advised and provided practical support to the Government of Canada on innovation policy and program design and implementation; helped structure and implement private sector innovation consortia and sustainability programs; and facilitated a range of complex dialogues with Indigenous rightsholders and stakeholders. Now President of SystemShift Inc. Jennifer holds a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Environmental Science Degree, as well as a professional certification in change management.

Steve Currie(he/him)

Board Member

Combines his love of startups working with Graphite VC with his passion for strategy and innovation. A tech industry veteran, Steve has been a startup founder & CEO, and worked in senior leadership roles in large organizations for more than 25 years in industries such as enterprise information systems, automotive dealer management software, sports data analytics and surgical robotics & tracking systems. He has led teams in Asia, Europe and North America. As a global leader in company growth and corporate innovation, he ran the world’s largest corporate open innovation hub with clients such as GM, Mattel, TD Bank, Canon, Manulife, Canadian Tire and Globe & Mail. Steve also led Communitech’s startup program overseeing coaching and mentoring to 500+ startups each year in Waterloo Region.

Past Initiatives

Membership Council

CAIN established a Membership Council with regional representatives to ensure the network reflects the diverse needs and priorities of BAIs across all parts of Canada.