Innovation Factory

Last week, we hosted our Food & CPG Founder Hangout, and it was incredible to see so many of our region’s food entrepreneurs, consumer packaged goods founders, and ecosystem partners come together! 🍔

This informal meetup was the perfect opportunity for founders at every stage to swap stories, share strategies, and build meaningful local connections. A huge thank you to Tom Wolff, our Expert Advisor for CPG, for kicking things off and sharing deep industry expertise on navigating retail hurdles.

We also want to extend a massive shoutout to our event sponsor, radius, and to Chelsea Ladd for joining us! Not only did they support the event, but they also proudly provided the delicious nibbles and snacks that kept everyone fueled throughout the afternoon. 😋

Thank you to everyone who came out to mingle, talk shop, and strengthen our local food and CPG ecosystem!

We can't talk about the future of Canadian innovation without talking about our young entrepreneurs.

That's why yesterday, we were in Toronto for Futurpreneur's Made in Canada. Made by Youth event. Our afternoon focused on the real challenges young founders face and how we can better support them.

The day kicked off with some amazing news from Minister Nina Tangri that the Ontario government is investing $6 million in Futurpreneur over the next three years to help young founders launch and grow their businesses!

After this incredible announcement, we got to hear a panel discussion that brought together perspectives from both founders and ecosystem leaders. We gained so much insight from this incredible group of speakers:

👉 Nina Tangri (Associate Minister of Small Business, Government of Ontario)
👉 Chi Nguyen (Member of Parliament for Spadina—Harbourfront, House of Commons of Canada)
👉 Meghan Victoria (Founder of SOL KYST)
👉 Amanveer Bajwa (Founder of Kahanii)
👉 Chantel (Malcolm) Malcolm-Henry and Peter Henry (Co-founders of Mini Mavericks)
👉 Adeyinka Pampam (Leadership and Business Coach)
👉 Jannine Rane (Co-Founder and CEO of Zing Pantry Shortcuts)
👉 Stephany Sani-Edwards (Regional Manager of Inclusive Entrepreneurship at BDC)
👉 Brammer (Regional Manager Business Markets at RBC)
👉 Our very own Karen Linseman (VP of Operations)

Being in the same room as so many amazing young entrepreneurs who are excited to grow and build their businesses in Canada is proof that the future of Canadian innovation is in good hands.

Swipe to see highlights from the event! 📸

This week, we were in Barrie for Dual-Use Day at the Sandbox Centre! 🚀

This full-day event was a masterclass in navigating the defence and dual-use ecosystem. It brought together growth-stage SMEs, tech startups, and economic leaders to figure out exactly how civilian technologies can successfully fit into the defence market.

The room was packed with incredible insights from an absolute powerhouse lineup of expert speakers, panels, and practitioners, including Adam Varey, Andre Filion, Darcy Byrtus, Darian Harris, Dina Tzirakos-Hawker, Frank Taylor, Michael Petric, and Troy Crosby.

Beyond the main panels, it was an invaluable day for structured networking, especially for the selected companies who scored private, deep-dive 1-on-1 sessions with the practitioners to map out their specific path forward.

We left this event feeling inspired by the sheer amount of innovation happening right here in Ontario and the massive potential for dual-use tech.

Swipe to check out some moments from the day! 📸👇