Canada’s Food & Agri-Tech Engine marks two-year anniversary since launch
Guelph ON, 02 June 2022 – Bioenterprise Canada’s participation in the recent AGRI Tech Venture Forum provided the first opportunity since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to engage in-person with members, partners, and stakeholders in Canada’s agri-innovation space.
The event coincided with the two-year anniversary of the launch of Canada’s Food & Agri-Tech Engine and the ongoing steady growth of its agri-food innovation focused network across the country.
“The growth of the Engine over the last two years has been nothing short of remarkable, demonstrating a real need for a cohesive, collaborative approach to agri-food innovation in this country,” says Bioenterprise CEO Dave Smardon. “The AGRI Tech Venture Forum was a wonderful opportunity for Bioenterprise to finally solidify in person many of the new relationships that have been created since the launch of the Engine – and to introduce our organization and our services to new contacts at the same time.”
The Bioenterprise team was on-site to provide information about membership opportunities, its sustainable innovation sponsorship initiative, available funding programs such as SmartGrowth, and the newly launched Northern Ontario Innovation Challenge.
Smardon gave a presentation on the first day of the event about the Engine and the opportunities it can offer start-ups and growth-oriented companies and moderated an investor panel discussion on day two. Dieter Valtins, Relationship Manager for Northeastern Ontario with Bioenterprise, also served as an investor panel moderator.
The organization also helped innovative start-ups in its network participate in the event’s pitch session, including Ardra, Micellae, Vivid Machines, Greenlight Analytical, Korechi Innovations and Farm Health Guardian.
“A major part of the Engine’s value proposition is the strength of our network and our ability to help people make the critical connections they need to help move their innovations and their businesses forward,” adds Smardon. “Although virtual meetings helped us get through the last two years of the pandemic, there are a lot of tangible and intangible benefits of being able to gather in-person and we look forward to building on the new connections that we’ve been able to make as a result of the Forum.”
Bioenterprise Canada is Canada’s Food & Agri-Tech Engine, bringing more than 15 years of industry experience and a national and international network of research institutions, academia, mentors and experts, government, and industry to help small and medium-sized businesses in the sector nationwide Connect, Innovate, and Grow. Through its experienced service partner network, Bioenterprise Canada offers a wide range of expertise and support to its clients, and partnerships with other industries help open doors to new technologies and platforms to help food and agri-tech businesses innovate and grow. Visit https://bioenterprise.ca/ to learn more.
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For more information:
Dave Smardon, Bioenterprise, dave.smardon@bioenterprise.ca or 519-821-2960
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