Spring’s investor challenges have dished out $170K over the last week

It’s no rest for the weary these days at Spring Activator. On top of the newly-launched Spring Investing Collective, the local organization has been churning out innovation challenges like hotcakes. Spring just wrapped up its third competition in the last week with investment totalling $170,000. Here’s a breakdown of who won what.

Food Impact Challenge

First, Spring cooked up a competition that focused on food innovation. A 10-week odyssey, this program guided entrepreneurs who are passionate about solving food-related obstacles in the categories of gender lens, food access, and waste reduction. Three winners took home prizes:

• Third place and $5,000 went to BIO RAW, a Toronto-based company delivering plant-based, organic meals.

• Second place and $10,000 went to The Farmer’s Truck, a Moncton-based company that is, essentially, a farmer’s market on wheels.

• First place and $15,000 went to Remix Snacks, a Montreal-based company that uses plant-based and upcycled ingredients.

Kootaney Investment Challenge

Next, Spring took the show on the road (as much as you can with a virtual event, that is). Through a partnership with the Kootenay Association for Science and Technology, the competition had a regional focus. Certicraft, a Nelson-based firm developing one-stop-shop software that helps craft cannabis producers run their business, won the challenge and its $40,000 top prize. It all would have had a sense of familiarity to CEO Sami Majadla as the company won last year’s OKGN Angel Summit Finale.

Women-led Impact Investor Challenge

Last but certainly not least, Spring closed out the trio of competitions with the Women-led Impact Investor Challenge presented by the TELUS Pollinator Fund for Good. This program empowers emerging impact investors and women-led ventures to make and seek impactful investments. Over the course of the program, investor and venture cohorts worked together to learn the ins and outs of impact investing and fundraising.

VoxCell BioInnovation’s founder and CEO Karolina Valente took the crown and the $100,000 top prize. The Victoria-based biotech company could, for lack of a better term, be defined as “cancertech.” VoxCell aims to provide a new platform for oncology drug screening by crafting 3D-printed, human-like tissues for drug testing.