Call for Applications: Grow Ontario Accelerator Hub (Canada)

GOAH is an initiative led by Bioenterprise Canada and funded by the Governments of Canada and Ontario through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP). It provides mentorship, business advisory services, and resources to help Ontario-based agri-food and agri-tech & agri-food companies grow and bring their innovations to market.

GOAH supports the province’s Grow Ontario strategy which aims to increase the creation and adoption of innovations for the agri-food sector to enhance competitiveness, grow market opportunities and strengthen the sector against future disruptions.

Priority Areas

• Priority: Food safety
  • Goals:
    • enhance public confidence in the sector
    • deliver on food safety and emergency management expectations and demands
    • anticipate, detect, mitigate and/or reduce food safety hazards along the supply chain
  • Focus areas:
    • detection and surveillance
    • pathway analysis
    • prevention and control
    • validation of detection methods
    • climate change resiliency
    • innovative technology development
    • performance measurement
    • emergency management
• Priority: Animal health and welfare
  • Goals:
    • enhance public confidence in the sector
    • deliver on animal health and animal welfare expectations and demands
    • anticipate, detect, mitigate and/or reduce animal health hazards and antimicrobial use along the supply chain
  • Focus areas:
    • development of best management practices (BMPs)
    • emerging pathogens and pests
    • health, welfare and productivity of young animals
    • prevention and control of pathogens
• Priority: Plant health and protection
  • Goals:
    • enhance public confidence in the sector
    • deliver on plant health expectations and demands
    • help strengthen the agri-food sector’s sustainability and social license through increased utilization of Integrated Pest Management and other pest mitigation strategies
    • anticipate, detect, mitigate and/or reduce plant hazards along the supply chain and improve plant resilience and resistance
  • Focus areas:
    • biology of current and emerging pests
    • climate change resiliency
    • innovative technology development
    • integrated pest management
• Priority: Soil health
  • Goals:
    • protect and enhance soil health and water quality
    • improve soil health and conservation to support agricultural productivity
  • Focus areas:
    • baseline soil health information
    • environmental impacts of management practices
• Priority: Water quality and quantity
  • Goals:
    • protect and enhance soil health and water quality
    • strengthen the agri-food sector’s sustainability and social license through improved water use and water quality
  • Focus areas:
    • analysis of BMP development
    • environmental impact of management practices
• Priority: Sustainable production systems
  • Goal: Strengthen the sustainability of the agri-food sector through:
    • increased water/waste/energy efficiency and reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
    • increased utilization of 4 Rs of Nutrient Stewardship
  • Focus areas:
    • analysis of BMP adoption
    • climate change resiliency
    • environmental impact of agriculture production
• Priority: Productive land capacity
  • Goal: Implement land use policies that support a healthy and resilient agriculture and food industry.
  • Focus areas:
    • evidence to support land use policies
    • environmental impact of agricultural production
    • effectiveness of land use policies
• Priority: Competitive production systems
  • Goal: Improve the efficiency, productivity and competitiveness of production systems through technology adoption and innovation:
    • labor-saving technology or practices
    • automation
    • waste reduction
    • recycling
    • increased water/waste/energy efficiency
    • reduced GHG emissions
  • Focus areas:
    • improved management processes
    • innovative technology development
    • input use efficiency
    • labour access/efficiencies
    • performance measurement
• Priority: Innovative products and product development
  • Goals: Enhance the competitiveness, profitability and growth of the agri-food sector through new or improved products.
  • Focus areas:
    • innovative technology development
    • new product development
    • product enhancement
• Priority: Trade, market and targeted growth opportunities
  • Goals:
    • grow the overall agri-food sector by expanding access in domestic and international markets
    • improve the economic performance of identified priority sub-sectors such as:
      • goats
      • hazelnuts
      • aquaculture
      • greenhouse
      • maple syrup
      • processed vegetables
      • processed meats
      • baked goods
      • cannabis/hemp
      • support the production of niche and/or value-add products that have a high potential for growth
  • Focus areas:
    • domestic market analysis
    • global market analysis
    • targeted sector growth
• Priority: Strong rural communities
  • Goal: Enhance the competitiveness, profitability and growth of rural communities.
  • Focus areas:
    • rural community development
    • reduced farmland loss
    • labour access/efficiencies

What they offer?

• Customized Mentorship
  • 25 hours of expert guidance designed for your business needs, provided by a team of experts with unmatched experience in the agri-tech and agri-food sector.
• Business Resources
  • Access to essential tools and resources for growth, catered specifically to the agri-tech and agri-food sector. The Resource Hub includes articles, guides, templates, videos, webinars, and more, with fresh content added consistently.
• Professional Business Support Services
  • Opportunities to connect with members of their trusted Service Provider Network to receive tactical assistance with core business operations including : Branding and Marketing, Communications and Public Relations (PR), Financing and Funding, Human Resources (HR) and Recruiting, Information Technology (IT) and Web Development, Intellectual Property (IP) and Legal, Regulatory Consulting, Research and Technical.
• International Network Access
  • Tap into the Bioenterprise global network, built through 20+ years of commitment to helping agri-tech businesses.
• Support at Your Speed
  • Access their services when and where you need them. This program is fully remote and is available when you need it. They don’t require in-office minimums or co-location.

Eligibility Criteria

• Eligible companies must:
  • Be located, registered, and carrying on business in Ontario.
  • Be operating in the agriculture, agri-food, and agri-based products sectors.
• Have products, services, or solutions that:
  • Address at least one of the Ontario agriculture research priority areas
  • Align with the goals set out by OMAFRA through their Grow Ontario Strategy.

For more information, visit Bioenterprise Canada.