An Edmonton startup bringing the gig economy to dentistry received a vote of confidence today, announcing investment from Alberta Enterprise Corporation-backed Accelerate Fund.
Launched in 2024 by dental hygienist Aisha Abdul and current CEO Amir Reshef, Fairly Staffing pairs verified dental professionals with clinics facing staffing shortfalls. Via its platform, clinics can select from a pool of temporary workers to cover shifts, while workers can clock in and out and invoice through the platform.
Capital comes via the Accelerate Fund IV, the fourth iteration of the Yaletown Partners-managed fund. Fairly Staffing did not disclose how much was invested, but the fund, which targets early-stage and pre-Series A startups in Alberta, typically invests up to $500,000.
“The pipeline is not keeping up. Fewer hygienists are graduating than in the past, and the ratio has shifted significantly.”
Amir Reshef, Fairly Staffing
Having grown its user base to more than 600 clinics and 3,000 temporary dental workers (the lion’s share of which are located in Alberta), Fairly Staffing intends to use the capital to further develop its presence across Canada.
The issue of adequate staffing is increasingly a concern in the dental industry, according to Reshef, who said there are not enough new professionals entering the field to match the demand.
“The pipeline is not keeping up. Fewer hygienists are graduating than in the past, and the ratio has shifted significantly,” Reshef said. “Where the industry once saw roughly three hygienists for every dentist, it is now much closer to one-to-one. That puts real pressure on clinics to maintain consistent coverage.”
That strain has been combined with what Reshef said is stricter enforcement from the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) around temporary hiring and worker classification, something the company is addressing via a partnership with Nmbr.
In late March, Fairly Staffing partnered with the Toronto-based payroll software provider to embed a CRA compliant payroll service directly into the Fairly Staffing platform, enabling users to automatically calculate deductions, CPP, employment insurance, and income tax remittances to the CRA.
Reshef sees this investment from the Accelerate Fund as validation of the company’s approach.
“This investment is a strong vote of confidence in both the problem we’re solving and the approach we’re taking,” said Reshef.
BetaKit’s Prairies reporting is funded in part by YEGAF, a not-for-profit dedicated to amplifying business stories in Alberta.