If you believe that innovation only happens inside semiconductor chips and software, think again.

Two social entrepreneurs from Ottawa are determined to improve food security, especially for Indigenous communities in Canada’s North, through innovation in agriculture.

Back in 2015, Corey Ellis and Alida Burke co-founded The Growcer and created a food system solution that allows “anyone anywhere to grow food locally.”

Years later, they are perfecting hardware, education and distribution to help The Growcer flourish. The company has sold approximately 85 of its growing systems, which range in price from $250,000 to $350,000, and employs about 30 people, most based in Ottawa.

Ellis and Burke say they are most proud about growing 10 million servings of vegetables through their systems in 2023.

In this episode of Techopia Live, Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran talks to Ellis and Burke about their ambitious growth plans, including a lease plan to make the units more accessible for buyers who can’t make an upfront capital purchase.

Techopia Live: Growcer ready to flourish in 2024

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More than 20 years after its founding, TrueContext Corp. has been acquired by U.S. private equity firm Battery Ventures in an all-cash deal valued at approximately $150 million.

The change in ownership is a big milestone for its founder, Alvaro Pombo, a native of Colombia and former CIO of Newbridge Networks.

Pombo founded TrueContext, formerly known as ProntoForms, in 2001 and led the company to a public listing on the TSX Venture Exchange in 2005. The Kanata-based software company gained customer traction with a low-code mobile solution aimed at field workers, who collect data in industries such as oil and gas.

As its CEO, Pombo scaled TrueContext to about 135 employees and more than $20 million in annual revenues over two decades. However, its status as a publicly traded company with low trade volume started to create a “misalignment of objectives” between shareholders focused on short-term returns and those taking a longer-range view of the company’s success.

That caused TrueContext executives to consider their alternatives.

In this episode of Techopia Live, Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran speaks with Pombo about what led to the decision to sell TrueContext and what comes next with Battery Ventures. Pombo also talks about the challenges of operating a microcap public company.

Inside TrueContext’s $150M acquisition | Episode 265

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Techopia Live: Growcer ready to flourish in 2024

Ottawa Business Journal

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