Are you building an agri-food business in Saskatchewan, looking for connections, training or support?
Or maybe you’re an investor looking for opportunities in the agri-food sector? We can help!
Ag-West Bio is Saskatchewan’s bioscience industry association. We work with industry stakeholders, innovators, and investors to help bring research to market, and to assist local agri-food start-ups or companies who want to relocate to this region.
What we do:
- We support businesses
- We catalyze initiatives
- We create connections
- We promote science
Support for businesses
Combining expertise and experience, we provide personalized input and a suite of services tailored to a company’s unique commercialization needs. We provide a centralized hub for linking private business with market knowledge, advisory input, mentoring and guidance. We can help start-ups advance their business plans based on opportunity and feasibility, which they can then use to gain investors and strategic partnerships.
Commercialization Fund
Ag-West Bio’s Technology Commercialization Funding is meant for a crucial stage for young companies: when they are not yet able to attract venture capital, but they’re beyond start-up investment. Companies that qualify for Ag-West Bio funding have undergone a rigorous due-diligence process, which leads to investor confidence, enabling investee companies to leverage investment dollars.
Catalyzing initiatives
By staying up to date with research and commercialization activity and market trends, we recognize opportunities when they arise. Ag-West Bio acts as a catalyst, making connections and encouraging collaboration so the province can benefit from those opportunities. We are currently involved in the development of the Saskatoon Food Cluster, with the goal of supporting the creation of more food and ingredient companies in the province.
Filling the gap in Saskatchewan’s agri-food innovation pipeline
Agri-food start-ups have unique challenges. They often need highly specialized equipment and staff, have high upfront costs, and face a long road to market entry and revenue generation.
To address those challenges in Saskatchewan, Ag-West Bio joined forces with the Global Institute for Food Security, Innovation Place, and the Saskatchewan Food Industry Development Centre to create the Global Agri-Food Advancement Partnership (GAAP), located at Innovation Place in Saskatoon. The GAAP provides facilities, mentorship, equipment training and funding to early stage, homegrown companies, as well as international clients looking to establish a presence in Western Canada.
Creating connections
One of Ag-West Bio’s roles is to help people make the connections they need to grow their businesses. We bring groups together in many forums, including hosting meetings and workshops, as well as organizing tours for international visitors.
Ag-West Bio manages the Agricultural Bioscience Innovation Centre (ABIC) Speaker Series, where experts from around the world inspire and teach entrepreneurs and the public about bioscience innovation. The spring 2022 event on May 25th features Sylvia Wulf, CEO of AquaBounty Technologies. Dr. Kevin Folta, University of Florida professor and founder of the Talking Biotech Podcast will join us in September for the Fall edition of ABIC.
We co-host The Knowledge Farm with Innovation Place to encourage our community to explore all kinds of agri-food topics at hybrid events. Visit theknowledgefarm.ca to discover learning and networking opportunities coming your way.
Open communication
Keeping information moving is an important aspect of business development. In the bioscience sector, information must flow along many lines—from researchers to entrepreneurs, investors and consumers.
Visit Ag-West Bio’s website for information about Saskatchewan’s bioscience organizations and activities. Check out our blogs, and subscribe to our quarterly e-magazine, the Bio-Bulletin. Find us on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook. Also visit our database of Saskatchewan agri-food organizations at saskagrisource.ca.
Get connected, stay informed
The Ag-West Bio team is working to grow the bioeconomy in Saskatchewan—and you can be a part of it! As a member, you support our efforts to promote Saskatchewan’s bioscience capacity. Keep us aware of your needs, so we can work for you.
Article provided by Ag-West Bio