Today, we’re excited to announce and introduce our 2022 Startup Global Pitch Competition top 10 finalists, special prize award winners, and UPS people’s choice winner. Our Startup Global program connects entrepreneurs who want to build globally-competitive businesses with a network of support, resources, and partners dedicated to their success.
This year, we selected 100 semi finalists to compete in our Startup Global pitch competition. Semi Finalists were given 90 seconds to present their pitch in front of our panel of judges where 10 finalists were selected to compete in the grand finale.
Introducing the Top 10 Finalists
In October, all of our finalists will take the stage to compete at the Grand Finale at our flagship event, Startup Day 2022, to win $30,000 (1st place), $15,000 (2nd place), and $10,000 (3rd place) to grow their business. This year’s finalists span all across Canada and across a variety of different industries. Meet the finalists:
- Allex Laurin, Cheelcare, striking assistive devices that facilitate independence for people with limited abilities.
- Nancy Wingham, Nuez Acres, an Indigenous and woman owned brand creating pecan oil beauty products for your skin, hair, and body.
- Julia St. Amand, RetinaLogik, a revolutionary eye exam technology that creates access to proactive vision screening.
- Sang Le, Peko Produce, a mystery box containing a mix of conventional and organic produce.
- Jessica Yang, Tochtech Technologies Ltd, a technology that eliminates the risk and sense of disconnect for seniors, especially those living independently.
- Michael W. Palmer, Solves Strips, thin, dissolvable strips that contain vitamins, supplements or medications for those who don’t like swallowing pills.
- Edouard Romeus, Buyer Folio Inc, a digital home buying assistant.
- Joey Hébert, MOS, an innovative car transport accessory that makes the lives of outdoor enthusiasts a lot easier.
- Stephanie Tien, Arbre, sustainable, innovative, and inclusive SPF products.
- Bronwyn Bridges, PragmaClin, which helps patients with Parkinson’s disease monitor their condition with the use of a flagship software, PRIMS.
The Special Prize Winners
This year we’ve also introduced a new array of prize categories where each category winner will be awarded $5,000 to grow their business.
The first award is for a Rural Entrepreneur who has pioneered a new product or service in a rural area which we’ve defined as a territory outside of a major urban centre. The winner of this year’s rural category is Bronwyn Bridges, Co-Founder and President of PragmaClin, which helps patients with Parkinson’s disease monitor their condition with the use of a flagship software, PRIMS.
The second award is for a Seniorpreneur who is an entrepreneur aged 50 and older and has built a growing business. The winner of this year’s seniorpreneur category is Ron Benegbi, Founder and CEO of Uplinq Financial Technologies, Uplinq empowers lenders to approve and manage risks on loans they would have otherwise declined based on traditional loan underwriting criteria, while incorporating environmental, market & community data to better understand the specific SMB loan applicant. It’s Credit Assessment as a Service.
The last award is for a social entrepreneur who has built a business that contributes to the UN sustainable development goals. The winner of this year’s social entrepreneur category is Kayli Dale, Co-Founder and CEO of Friendlier, they make it easy for your restaurant to be more eco-friendly, with a comprehensive, hands-off reusable packaging solution.
Congratulations to our special prize winners!
We also wanted to give a massive thank you to each of our judges for contributing their time to adjudicating these prizes:
Mary Doyle, Rural on Purpose: Rural Entrepreneur Judge
Dino Miele, Spark Innovation: Seniorpreneur Judge
Christine Forget, Cycle Momentum: Social Entrepreneur Judge
Maria O’Reilly, Upside Foundation: Social Entrepreneur Judge
Susan Blanchet, Origen Air: Social Entrepreneur Judge
UPS People’s Choice
The People’s Choice Award is just one of many ways that UPS supports small businesses across Canada. As a longstanding partner of ours, they offer special discounts and offers for small businesses as well as resources and a blog specifically designed for startups. They are proud to be the sponsor of the People’s Choice Award to continue to support entrepreneurship and innovation here in Canada. You can read more about why they sponsor the People’s’ Choice Award here.
The winner of this category received the most votes and has won $5,000 for their business as well as an extra spot in the Grand Finale. This year’s winner is Annika Mang, Co-Founder and CEO of Trail Collectiv, a hiking guide app that helps families find trails to hike together.
The Grand Finale
Congratulations to all of our finalists and winners! If you want to watch the finalists take the stage one more time, don’t miss the grand finale taking place at Startup Day 2022 in October. Register today here.