24 agri-food companies in Southern Ontario receive seed funding

Guelph, Ont. – Twenty-four companies in Southern Ontario will receive up to $30,000 in non-repayable seed financing.

The financial support is coming from Bioenterprise Corporation, a non-profit business accelerator that offers support to businesses in the agricultural technology sector, and its delivery partner Innovation Guelph, which provides mentorship and business support programs.

In a statement, Bioenterprise and Innovation Guelph say the 24 companies are “part of the third round of program delivery” and “join 65 previous recipients who were selected for first and second rounds of seed funding in 2016 and 2017.”

Bioenterprise and Innovation Guelph say the companies are expected to use the funding towards:

-branding and marketing;
-prototyping and product piloting;
-business-to-business sales;
-business development;
-process optimization; and
-advancing market opportunities.

The companies are based in Guelph, Hamilton, Middlesex, Niagara, Perth, Toronto, Wellington and York regions.

The statement explains that the federal government “provided Bioenterprise with up to $4.84 million to deliver the Bioenterprise Seed Fund and Innovation Guelph’s Fuel Injection program.” The programs support innovative Southern Ontario businesses in the agriculture and agri-food, sustainable and environmental technology, advanced manufacturing and social innovation sectors, says the statement.

Update

Bioenterprise and Innovation Guelph say the 32 companies from the first round “have raised more than $21 million in follow-on private investment, generated more than $6 million in revenues, created more than 45 jobs and launched more than 50 products, processes and technologies.”

Third-round recipients

The following companies are the third-round seed-funding recipients:

Greater Toronto region

·         Better Start Naturals, Peel region (beverages)

·         Black & Blue Foods Inc., Toronto

·         BN Progressive Products Ltd., Peel region (food packaging)

·         Champions of Butter, Grey County

·         The Chufa Company Inc., Toronto (vegan ice cream)

·         Forbidden Fruit, Toronto (cold pressed juices)

·         The Friendly Chef Adventures, Erin

·         Good Food for Good, Toronto (sauces, condiments, teas)

·         Hearthwood Farm & Cidery, Erin

·         Modgarden o/a tinyFarm, Toronto (tiny farms for homes, condos)

·         SoyaOil Coatings Canada, Holland Landing

·         Tzafona Cellars Inc., Toronto 

Halton-Niagara-Haldimand/Norfolk

·         Hamill Machine Company Inc., Niagara (machinery for wine and food producers)

·         Principal Point Geospatial Solutions (PPGS), Hamilton

 Perth County

·         Energrow Inc., Listowel (farm-scale oilseed pressing and filtration)

 Waterloo-Wellington-London

·         2586856 Ontario Ltd., Middlesex

·         Appleflats Inc., Wellesley (jellies, cocktail mixes)

·         Cupanion (Green Menu Inc.), Wellington (resuable water bottles)

·         The Savvy Farmer, Guelph (agriculture pest control)

·         Soleluna Cosmetics, Wellington

·         Stock Exchange, Waterloo

·         Stratodynamics Aviation Inc., Wellington

·         WaterFarmers Aquaponics, Wellington

·         Youth Circus Project, Wellington