Innovation Saskatchewan is responsible for implementing the province’s innovation priorities and helping grow Saskatchewan’s tech sector. Effective April 2022, this includes operation of the Innovation Place technology parks in Saskatoon and Regina.
There are seeds aplenty planted throughout the Prairies, and we’re not just talking canola.
Recently, three Prairie-based startups raised a combined $2.45 million in separate seed rounds: Saskatoon’s Rivercity Innovations secured $700,000, Regina’s BrewNinja secured $650,000 and Winnipeg’s Callia Flowers secured $1.1 million.
Rivercity Innovations was founded in 2017 after winning the inaugural Innovation Saskatchewan Rural Crime Challenge with BeeSecure, a GPS tracking and theft prevention solution for bees and equipment. The company has expanded to now engineer sensors and software for various Internet-of-Things (IoT) solutions.
Rivercity Innovations is a true Saskatchewan success story with the team educated and built in Saskatchewan, partnered with SaskTel, funding supported by Conexus Venture Capital and now at home at Innovation Place in Saskatoon.
“We’re very fortunate to have chosen to start our business here in Saskatchewan, at Innovation Place,” said Jeff Shirley, CEO and co-founder of Rivercity Innovations. Shirley credits the tech ecosystem and support of additional government agencies like Innovation Saskatchewan for their continued success.
BrewNinja was founded in 2019 and provides software to streamline brewery operations and management. BrewNinja is a startup at Cultivator, a business incubator in Regina and former tenant at Innovation Place in Regina.
Callia Flowers launched in 2016 and is a floral delivery startup that began in Winnipeg and has now expanded to many cities across Canada, including Regina and Saskatoon.
(Fun fact: My mother-in-law sent Easter flowers via Callia and they were lovely.)
Congratulations to these three Prairie startups who are making a big impact!
— April 8, 2021
