A legacy of sustainable socio-economic impact

A legacy of sustainable
socio-economic impact

The McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship proudly stands as a global leader in entrepreneurship, committed to catalyzing sustainable socio-economic impact both locally and globally.

Our steadfast dedication to build innovative companies with a purpose, propels us forward, ensuring our adaptability and responsiveness to the dynamic landscape of innovation across various industries, entrepreneurial education, and international fundraising trends.

With the mission to teach, coach, and support innovation stemming from McGill’s faculties, schools, and research centres, the Dobson Centre offers learning and mentorship pathways tailored to different stages of the entrepreneurial journey and industry sectors.

The Dobson Centre accelerates the commercialization of innovation across industries by

  1. bridging the gap during the critical seed fundraising phase,

  2. understanding the power of diversity of thinking at four levels (gender, cultural, expertise, and generational) in the conceptualization and implementation of entrepreneurship education, and

  3. building a connected ecosystem of partners.


Our 2024 Ecosystem in Numbers

The McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship has supported thousands of ventures throughout the years from which:

530+ active startups
12,000 jobs created
$4.1 Billion
raised in funding cumulatively
46 countries of operations
258 active patents
123 universities represented

 

Since 2019, we are proud to report that more than 50% of our startups have at least one woman co-founder. This achievement, and many others are shared with all our founders, investors, and partners who have been instrumental in propelling the Dobson Centre’s impact on a global scale.


Driving Economic Impact - 2023

Accelerating fundraising: Dobson startups funds raised over the years

Dobson startups funds raised over the years

Dobson startups funds raised over the years

Year Startup funds
2011 $3,3 Million
2012 $12,2 Million
2013 $50,1 Million
2014 $99,9 Million
2015 $130,4 Million
2016 $200,4 Million
2017 $250,9 Million
2018 $320,2 Million
2019 $401 million
2020 $1 Billion ($1,5 Billion)
2021 $2,8 Billion
2022 $3,6 Billion
2023 $3,7 Billion

Closing the funding gap at every stage: Dobson startups by funding tier raised

Dobson startups by funding tier raised

Dobson startups by funding tier raised

Funding Tier % of Dobson startups
Less than 10 Thousand 10%
10 to 50 Thousand 24%
50 to 100 Thousand 11%
100 to 500 Thousand 16%
500 Thousand to 1 Million 6%
1 to 5 Million 11%
5 to 10 Million 4%
10 to 100 Million 7%
Greater than 100 Million 11%

Innovation stemming from across the campus: Breakdown of Dobson startups by industry with generated patents

Breakdown of Dobson startups by industry with generated patents

Breakdown of Dobson startups by industry with generated patents

Industry Generated Patents %
Agriculture & Food 4 4,22%
Biotechnology & Therapeutics 5 5,27%
Consumer Technologies & Retail 4 20,46%
Education 1 7,59%
Health & Medical Technologies 59 26,58%
Manufacturing 12 3,80%
Not-For-Profit & Social Purpose Organizations 1 7,59%
Pure Technologies 2 7,17%
Climate & Environmental Impact 20 7,81%
Other 1 9,49%

An Engaged Network

Promoting innovation in entrepreneurship is an endeavor that is only as strong as the ecosystem that comes together to support changemakers in their journey.

11 faculties
13 schools
35 research centres

In addition to the inclusion of McGill-affiliated founders, we have built an extensive network of partners that support our various activities.

Generous contributors

We are grateful for all our supportive private family offices in addition to:
 

John Dobson Foundation

 

National Bank

 

Weston Family Foundation

 

Ministère de l'Économie, de l'Innovation et de l'Énergie, gouvernement du Québec

 

Investissement Québec

 

Trade Commissioner Service, Government of Canada

Our campus partners

are invaluable allies in the prototyping and development of cutting-edge innovations.
 

McGill Sustainability

 

Mastercard Foundation

 

Critical Innovation Competition

 

Healthy Brains Healthy Lives

 

McGill Engine

 

Innovation Fund

 

Building 21

 

 

Our specialized partners

 


 

McGill University Health Centre

Montreal, Canada


Sustainable Development Technology Canada

Canada


Mesh Incubator

Mass General Brigham & Harvard Innovations Boston, USA


TMC Innovation

Texas Medical Centre, Houston, USA


Digital Medical Hub

Hôtel-Dieu de Paris, Paris, France


Aqua Action

Canada and USA


Mitacs Accelerate

International


Hult Prize

International


Dobson’s Global Footprint

Our startups operate in 46 countries and partner with 131 universities

Dobson’s Global Footprint

61 Universities

in North America

6 Universities

in South America

24 Universities

in Africa

22 Universities

in Europe

7 Universities

in Middle East

6 Universities

in Asia

1 University in Oceania

Explore our 2023 Impact Report

Explore our
2023 Impact Report

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