12 November 2015—Simon Fraser University (SFU), Vancouver, Canada, announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the technology investment management group Hanhai Zhiye, Beijing, China, to launch a new initiative to accelerate growth and commercialization of technologies jointly developed in the two countries. The initiative, dubbed the China-Canada Commercialization and Acceleration Network (C2-CAN), has the stated goal of supporting commercialization of advanced tech originating from the two countries, as well as helping entrepreneurs and innovators to tap cross-border connections and resources.
 
On the SFU side, C2-CAN marks the latest step in “SFU Innovates,” a suite of university initiatives that seek to “inspire, develop, and support impact-driven innovation and entrepreneurship.” The accelerator will reside in Vancouver within the university’s VentureLabs program—the largest business accelerator in British Columbia, according to an SFU press release, and part of a pan-Canadian accelerator network operated with two other universities, Ryerson and the University of Ontario.
 
Hanhai Zhiye, established in 2003, is a high-tech conglomerate that focuses on science and technology park construction and development, and that is seeking to “build an international science and technology service platform that hatches globally for cross-border acceleration.” It is no stranger to international partnerships, having forged accelerator and incubator partnerships in the United States and Germany, as well as five large national science and technology incubators within China itself.
 
As part of the  C2-CAN arrangement, Canadian start-ups will be able to access programs at all of these Hanhai locations. In addition to such access, start-ups and innovators participating in the program will reportedly be able to take advantage of business training, angel investors, and venture capital. SFU President Andrew Petter, who signed the MOU, said in a press release that he hoped the program would “facilitate the development of sustainable, high-growth businesses,” while expanding collaborative and commercialization opportunities for new advanced tech.