Lévis, Que.-based Desjardins Group opened its new “innovation lab” on Monday in downtown Montreal.
The Desjardins Lab will be used to analyze, develop and test applications and new technologies meant to improve the service Desjardins provides its members and clients, according to the firm’s announcement. The lab is both a physical space, located in the south tower of Complexe Desjardins, and a virtual one. It invites members to contribute their opinions regarding the firm’s projects through its website.
“At Desjardins, we’ve identified innovation as a key factor to our success in a rapidly changing world,” said Monique Leroux, president and CEO of Desjardins, in a statement.
Leroux also used the inauguration to announce partnerships with InnoCité MTL, Montreal’s “smart city accelerator,” and Hacking Health, a non-profit organization that pairs technology innovators with healthcare experts to create solutions for front-line healthcare problems.
“The goal is to encourage sharing between these three partnerships for the purposes of training, coaching, mentoring, accommodating creation teams and sharing expertise,” Desjardins says in its statement. “Through these collaborations, Desjardins wants to achieve three objectives: promote co-creation within the community, broaden its digital services and create spaces that foster co-creation and learning.”
Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre, quoted in the statement, praised these partnerships: “Montreal, a smart and digital city, seeks to bring together diverse groups, including citizens, startups and the business community. The involvement of an important financial institution, so intimately linked with our collective entrepreneurial history … reinforces the notion that we must all invest in the future of Montreal.”