The Desjardins Lab
The Desjardins Lab explores ways to stay current and in step with our clients by gathering like-minded individuals who wish to contribute to innovative ideas and facilitating rapid prototyping and IT exploration services. The lab also seeks out opportunities for mentoring, training, outreach, internships and careers for individuals who are underrepresented in the tech sector and it takes an inclusive approach that recognizes the contributions of women in tech. The Cooperathon is the brainchild of the Desjardins Lab and its partners and is a way for citizen-driven startup-type projects to get off the ground and quickly move into the validation phase. As the largest open innovation competition in Canada, it aims to have maximum social impact.
In 2019, over 3,000 members of the public attended our Desjardins Lab Meet-ups. To learn more, please see the 2019 Social and Cooperative Responsibility Report (page 67). In 2019, the Desjardins Lab’s Startup in Residence program also welcomed WALO, an innovative financial education startup founded by two women. Linked to a prepaid card, the WALO mobile app teaches kids the value of money, while providing their parents with a user-friendly, secure tool to supervise their child’s spending and turn pocket money into hands-on life lessons.
