Eight tech companies based in Ontario and Saskatchewan are receiving a collective $4.4 million in funding and loans from the federal government through its regional development agencies (RDA).
The companies span a number of tech verticals, including SaaS and retail.
The new funding comes from two RDAs: FedDev Ontario and Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD), the latter through WD’s Business Scale-up and Productivity program. This funding is part of a collective $13.5 million in recent investments through these agencies.
The companies span a number of tech verticals, including SaaS, retail, and AgTech. One company that received an investment through FedDev Ontario is Mycionics, which has developed a robotic harvesting system for mushroom growing facilities.
Mycionics is receiving a $975,000 loan from FedDev Ontario, which will be used to implement its technology in two southern Ontario mushroom operations, test and develop the robotic harvesting system for industrial-scale use, and ready it for commercialization and export.
Saskatoon-based vehicle retail startup Curbie Cars received $800,000 to expand the functionality and markets for its online vehicle sales platform. Curbie Cars recently raised a $7 million CAD seed round of financing, led by prominent Prairie-region investor Conexus Venture Capital.
Canada’s RDAs, created as part of the federal government’s Innovation and Skills Plan, exist to support businesses and innovators in their growth. There are currently a total of six RDAs, including one for Quebec, two for Ontario, one for Atlantic Canada, and one for the western provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.
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Late last year, the federal government first unveiled plans to create a seventh RDA, specifically for BC. In January, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages Mélanie Joly launched a virtual engagement tour on the topic of the RDA.
The eight Canadian tech companies that recently received or are receiving RDA funding include:
- Mycionics (Putnam, ON) – $975,766
- SalonScale Technology (Saskatoon, SK) – $300,000
- SkillShark Software (Saskatoon, SK) – $366,322
- Saskarc (Oxbow, SK) – $837,500
- Curbie Cars (Saskatoon, SK) – $800,000
- North Star Systems (Saskatoon, SK) – $400,000
- Offstreet Technology (Regina, SK) – $200,000
- Cova Software (Regina, SK) – $531,125
Image source Curbie Cars.