Mobile application start-up IKBEE is bringing its expertise in offline smartphone notifications and cloud networking to Summerside, says Minister of Economic Development and Tourism Heath MacDonald.
“Attracting international business opportunities like IKBEE is vital for the continued health of our economy and the prosperity of local businesses,” Minister MacDonald said. “We’re thrilled to see these network experts relocate to the Island, which furthers our goals of creating jobs, increasing exports, and growing our Island economy.”
The minister and department staff met with IKBEE in India during last winter’s provincial trade mission. IKBEE founders Praveen Gupta and Paramjit Singh have nearly 20 years of combined experience in the technology sector and product development for digital products and were thrilled to relocate to Summerside.
IKBEE plans to hire four new employees in Prince Edward Island as the business grows – one with a background in cloud networking and three to make up a development team. IKBEE received Prince Edward Island’s first Start-up VISA—a program designed to attract foreign entrepreneurs who wish to establish new, high-growth businesses in Canada.
“After global interactions with various companies and investors, we understood the importance of location for a technology start-up, and we decided to shift our base to North America and specifically to Prince Edward Island” said Gupta. “We’re glad that after long discussions and due diligence, IKBEE and LaunchPad PEI have decided to work together.”
LaunchPad PEI – through Innovation PEI – assists new businesses by providing mentoring and advice, connections to local groups and associations, funding programs, and subsidized office space. LaunchPad PEI also assists off-Island companies by providing turnkey office space to establish a base of operations on Prince Edward Island.
Backgrounder
About IKBEE
IKBEE and its founders are originally from the New Delhi and Bangalore regions in India.
They have a first mover advantage in the mobile application market, with a smartphone mobile application designed to allow users to receive real-time notifications without requiring a constant and continuous-use network connection.
The application will be ideal for the budget conscious smartphone user, as they will save on data charges and reduce battery consumption through IKBEE’s new application.
Individuals will be able to use cloud infrastructure and still receive real time notifications—including social media, text messages, and email—direct to their devices.