Northern Food Security Challenge

NOT CURRENTLY ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

Powered by Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario (FedNor) and Bioenterprise Canada

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We’re looking for organizations in Northern Ontario that build innovative sustainability solutions for the agriculture and food & beverage sectors in Canada. If that’s your organization, tell us about it.

What is Northern Food Security Challenge?

The Northern Food Security Challenge is an agri-food innovation challenge where eligible Northern Ontario businesses are invited to submit an application focused on their innovative solutions, processes or methods used to improve food security in Northern communities. The 6 highest scoring applications will be selected to participate in a virtual pitch competition hosted in partnership with the Ingenuity, Lakehead University’s business incubator space.

A cash prize of $10,000 will be awarded to the winner and a $5,000 cash prize will be provided to the runner up.  Applications to the challenge will be judged on the problem or opportunity they are addressing, their solution’s ability to address the problem/opportunity, team experience and readiness to grow the business and the overall impact to agri-food security in the North.


Project details

Project Duration: 2 months

Funding Available: $15,000

Project eligibility

Eligible applicants are headquartered in Northern Ontario, are a sole proprietorship or corporation, for-profit Canadian company with a minimum Technology Readiness Level of 4+ who operate in the agriculture or food & beverage sectors. This competition is designed for early-stage companies who are pre-revenue or have trailing 12 month revenues of less than $250,000 and have 5 or fewer FTE employees.

Eligible applicants must:

  • Operating in the agriculture or food & beverage sectors;
  • A sole proprietorship or corporation, for-profit private company headquartered in Northern Ontario, Canada;
  • Pre-revenue or generating a maximum of $250,000 in revenues;
  • Having 5 or fewer full time equivalent employees;
  • Achieve a minimum 4+ Technology Readiness Level (Component and/or validation in a laboratory environment – basic technological components are integrated to establish they will work together)

Timeline

  • May 25, 2023 – Program Launch – Applications open

  • June 18, 2023 – Applications Close

  • June 19 – June 20, 2023 – Application Review & Scoring

  • June 21, 2023 – Selected finalists are notified

  • June 27, 2023 – Finalists participate in virtual challenge / competition event

  • June 27, 2023 – Winners are selected

  • July, 2023 – Cash prizes are distributed

Application process

Applications will be accepted beginning May 25, 2023, in one-phase process consisting of an online application form.

The deadline to submit applications will be June 18th at 11:59PM. 

Applications will be scored against a standardized scoring rubric and the finalists will be notified by June 21st, 2023 at the latest.

Funded by

OAFRI is funded by the Governments of Canada and Ontario through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP), a five-year, federal-provincial-territorial initiative.

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Contact & to get more info

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For specific questions please email:

submissions@bioenterprise.ca