#VTJTalks: The BC Defence Tech Moment: Strategy, Scale, and Sovereignty
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The BC Defence Tech Moment: Strategy, Scale, and Sovereignty
Canada is modernizing defence procurement. Innovation programs are expanding. The question is: how can BC founders win in this new landscape?
Join Vancouver Tech Journal and UBC Sauder’s Scale Up program for a high-signal discussion on the entrepreneurial realities behind Canada’s defence industrial push.
As geopolitical tensions reshape global supply chains and domestic capacity becomes a national priority, Canada is rethinking how it works with innovators—particularly in areas like advanced manufacturing, AI, cybersecurity, sensors, and dual-use technologies. For founders in British Columbia, that creates both opportunity and complexity. New funding streams are emerging. Procurement pathways are evolving. But translating early innovation support into long-term, revenue-generating government contracts remains a challenge.
This conversation will go beyond the headlines to explore what it actually takes to build and scale a defence-adjacent company from Western Canada.
How do you move from pilot projects to real procurement? What does it mean to work with large primes under Industrial and Technological Benefits (ITBs)?
When should you look to export markets—and how do you position a product as dual-use without diluting focus?
And what role should ecosystem players in BC play to ensure founders aren’t navigating this alone?
Our speakers:
Moderator: Sabrina Hauser, Associate Director, Scale Up with the Founders Lab at the Sauder School of Business
Jozsef Hamari, Co-Founder at TerraSense Analytics
Alvis Min-Yu Huang, Founder & CEO, Emtar Technologies
Tarig Abdellatief, Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer, Goverly Tech Inc
William Richardson, Fellow, Canadian Global Affairs Institute
Expect a candid, operator-level discussion grounded in lived experience—what’s working, where friction remains, and what founders need to know now to compete nationally and globally.
Overview:
#VTJTalks: The BC Defence Tech Moment: Strategy, Scale, and Sovereignty
When: Wed, March 18
Time: 5:00-7:00pm
Where: Seaforth Armoury - 1650 Burrard St, Vancouver, BC V6J 3G4
Tickets: Prices vary
VTJ Insiders get 50% off events. Check your Thursday Insiders newsletter for the signup code.
Agenda:
5:00-5:30pm Networking
5:30-6:30pm Panel Discussion with Q&A
6:30-7:00pm More Networking!
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