Terms and Conditions
The Digital Commerce Calgary Fintech Award Contest (the “Contest”) is intended to position Calgary as a leader in fintech innovation and to support the growth of fintech startups working in, or moving to, Calgary, Alberta. The Contest is offered and administered by Platform Calgary and is sponsored by Digital Commerce Bank (referred to collectively as the Contest Sponsors).
Entry Period: To enter the Contest, an entrant must fully complete and submit an application form available on https://calgaryfintechaward.com describing its business and operations with all information requested in the application. The entry period starts on April 19, 2023, at 12:00 a.m. MT and ends on June 12, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. MT (the “Entry Period”).
Eligibility: No purchase is required. The following eligibility criteria apply:
The entrant must be a privately held corporation registered federally or provincially in Canada;
Entrants that are registered to do business in Quebec and that are not extra-provincially registered in any other jurisdiction are ineligible for participation;
The entrant must be a fintech (i.e. a company that incorporates technology to automate, enhance or optimize how we transact and exchange value). This could include but is not limited to blockchain, crypto, insurtech, green finance/carbon trading, open banking, payments, proptech, regtech, etc;
Any entrant that, at any time during the Entry Period, has a director, officer, shareholder, or employee (or an immediate family member of any one of those persons) who is an employee of Platform Calgary or Digital Commerce Bank must disclose this information in the application so that any potential conflict can be appropriately addressed by the Conflict Sponsors when selecting the Judging Panel. Failure to disclose this information will result in disqualification; and
Any entrant that has previously entered into the Platform Calgary Fintech Award Program and has won a prize is ineligible to participate.
Agreement to Be Legally Bound by Rules: By participating in this Contest, the entrant is signifying its agreement that to be legally bound by these Terms and Conditions.
Review Process and Criteria: Review panels will be appointed by the Contest Sponsors.
First Round. Platform Calgary in consultation with a review panel will assess all eligible applications to the contest and will create a shortlist of up to 25 entrants, or such other number determined by Platform Calgary, (the “First Round Candidates”) that will be selected to participate in four virtual fintech-specific sessions led by industry experts and submit an assignment that will help the panel evaluate the entrants’ businesses. The sessions will occur during July and August of 2023 and will be communicated to successful entrants. A First Round Candidate must fully participate in the sessions and submit the assignment by the deadline in order to be eligible to proceed further in the Contest.
Second Round. Platform Calgary and a review panel will review the assignments submitted by the First Round Candidates and will select up to 10 entrants, or such other number determined by Platform Calgary (the “Second Round Candidates”) to receive pitch coaching and take part in a series of in-person workshops and events in Calgary, Alberta. A Second Round Candidate must fully participate in the pitch coaching and workshops to proceed further in the Contest.
Finalists. A review panel will select up to five of the Second Round Candidates as finalists in the contest. The finalists will be invited to provide a live pitch at an awards ceremony in Calgary, Alberta on October 5, 2023, or such other date determined by Platform Calgary. Finalists must present their pitches in person at the awards ceremony to be eligible. The panel will evaluate the live pitches and the finalists’ overall applications in their sole discretion based on factors including innovation and a strong value proposition for the Calgary region through the creation of jobs, economic growth and diversification. The weighting of each criterion shall be determined by the review panel in their sole discretion.
Notification. Entrants that are selected for each round will be notified by email at the email address include on the application form. The winners of the contest will be informed in person at the award ceremony on October 5, 2023. Contest Sponsors are under no obligation to provide feedback to entrants on their applications or to notify unsuccessful entrants that they have not been selected.
Prizes: There are up to four prizes are available to be won:
The first prize is a Digital Commerce Bank prepaid Visa card in the amount of $125,000.
The second prize is a Digital Commerce Bank prepaid Visa card in the amount of $100,000.
The third prize is a Digital Commerce Bank prepaid Visa card in the amount of $75,000.
A potential fourth prize may be awarded that is a Digital Commerce Bank prepaid Visa card in the amount of $50,000. This potential fourth prize is the “Community Builder Award” and is intended to be awarded to an entrant whose product or service addresses a significant social and community issue and has the potential to create a positive impact. The Community Builder Award will only be awarded if sponsorship for the award is received by Platform Calgary prior to the award date and if Platform Calgary and the Review Panel determines, in their sole discretion, that there is a suitable finalist in this category.
All prizes are in Canadian dollars. Prizes are not transferable and cannot be substituted by the winner for cash or otherwise and must be accepted as awarded. Platform Calgary reserves the right, in its absolute discretion, to make substitutions of equivalent kind or value in the event of unavailability of all or part of the prize for any reason whatsoever. Chances of winning depends on the number of total applications received and quality of applications received.
Personal Information. By participating in the Contest, each entrant confirms that it has obtained the consent (i) to disclose to Platform Calgary and the Review Panel any personal information regarding the entrant’s founders, shareholders, directors or officers (the “Individuals”) that may be contained in the entrant’s application form or in any subsequent contest materials submitted in relation to the contest; (ii) that Platform Calgary has the right to use any such Individual’s personal information provided for the purpose of administering the Contest, including but not limited to contacting and announcing the winners and; (ii) the Individuals’ grant to the Contest Sponsors the right to use their Personal Information for publicity and promotional purposes relating to the Contest in any and all media without further compensation unless prohibited by law. Platform Calgary will use each Individual’s personal information only for identified purposes, and protect each Individual’s Personal Information in a manner that is consistent with Platform’s Privacy Policy at https://calgaryfintechaward.com/privacy-policy.
Limitation of Liability. The Contest Sponsors assume no responsibility or liability for lost, late, unintelligible/illegible, misdirected or incomplete entries, or for any computer, online, software, hardware or technical malfunctions that may occur, including but not limited to malfunctions that may affect the transmission or non-transmission of an entry. The Contest Sponsors are not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by website users or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Contest or by any technical or human error which may occur in the administration of the Contest. The Contest Sponsors assume no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, entries. The Contest Sponsors are not responsible for any problems, failures or technical malfunction of any computer online systems, servers, providers, computer equipment, software, e-mail, players, or browsers, on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet, at any website, or on account of any combination of the foregoing or otherwise. The Contest Sponsors are not responsible for any injury or damage to any entrant or to any computer related to or resulting from participating or downloading materials related to the Contest. Entrant assumes liability for injuries caused or claimed to be caused by participating in the Contest, or by the acceptance, possession, use of, or failure to receive any prize. The Contest Sponsors assume no responsibility or liability in the event that the Contest cannot be conducted as planned for any reason, including those reasons beyond the control of the Contest Sponsors.
Release. By entering the Contest, each entrant releases and holds the Contest Sponsors and their respective directors, officers and employees (the “Releasees”) harmless from any and all liability for any injuries, loss or damage of any kind to the entrants or any other person resulting in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from acceptance, possession, use or misuse of any prize, participation in the Contest, any breach of the Contest Terms and Conditions, any decisions of the Contest Sponsors or the review panel or in any prize-related activity.
Binding Rules and Decisions. Each entrant agrees to be bound by these Terms and Conditions. Entrants further agree to be bound by the decisions of the Contest Sponsors and the review Panel, which shall be final and binding in all respects.
Disqualification. Platform Calgary reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any entrant: (a) found to be violating these Terms and Conditions; or (b) if the business or conduct of the entrant or its shareholders, directors, officers or employees may adversely impact the reputation of the Contest or the Contest Sponsors.
Changes to Contest. Platform Calgary reserves the right in its sole discretion, to terminate the Contest, in whole or in part, and/or modify, amend or suspend the Contest, and/or these Terms and Conditions in any way, at any time, for any reason without prior notice.
Applicable law. This Contest is subject to the laws of the Province of Alberta and any applicable federal laws.