Harnessing Saskatchewan: Insights from the NAVIGATE Program

The GAAP Agri-food Technology Ecosystem Introduction Program, NAVIGATE, provides best-in-class novel Agri-Food Technology companies with an opportunity to participate in the GAAP incubator program and explore their expansion potential into the North American Marketplace and their fit within the ecosystem.

Through NAVIGATE, GAAP and?Ag-West Bio?have partnered to showcase the local region to global markets, attracting international start-ups that have created an innovative technology to solve on-farm and food industry challenges.

Throughout our past two programs we have had over 10 companies come to Saskatoon to showcase the ecosystem here.

Responses from our participants showed that the program was valuable and gave them immense understating of the Saskatchewan landscape.

Our participants shared that 9.6/10 would recommend the program to a colleague or friend.

"I could highlight the most positive aspect as the opportunity to have not only general meetings with various stakeholders in the technological ecosystem but, most importantly, personal meetings. This was crucial in starting to consider potential individual strategies for activities or developments in Saskatoon. Also, spending almost the entire day with fellow entrepreneurs in similar situations was very enriching, just like strengthening personal connections with the GAAP team." Navigate participant on what they liked best about the program.

During our On-Farm and Food-Tech Navigate Programs participants toured a variety of farms, labs, research facilities, food production facilities and more! These tours provided first-hand insight to food production and processing practices in Canada as well as an opportunity to connect with sector experts.

Our participants said that 9/10 found the research and industry tours valuable.

"I enjoyed them, because it gave a good all round picture of the eco-system."

During the program we brought in established Saskatchewan entrepreneurs to share on their start-up journey here during speaker seminars.

Our participants said that 9/10 found the speaker seminars valuable.

"I believe that all the speakers understood our stage perfectly, and the talks were well-focused and specific. There was a great willingness to answer questions and assist us in this potential transition."

The Ecosystem Training Day introduces Navigate participants to many of the funding programs and research partners that available here in Saskatchewan and Canada.

Our participants said that 9.2/10 found the Ecosystem Training Day valuable.

"It gave good insight into the research capabilities and funding options in Saskatoon. Made great connections."

The Navigate program includes a Canadian Business Workshop, an introduction to Canadian taxes, law, regulatory, and IP, facilitated by local experts.

Our participants said that 8.8/10 found the Canadian Business Workshop valuable.

"It was super helpful to understand better what it would be needed to set up a Canadian subsidiary."

Our participants found that all parts of the program were valuable.

"All the visits, meetings, or events were of great value. Perhaps some will be useful in the short term, and others in the medium or long term. But personally, I always find value in companies, institutions, or individuals with experience in the industry or R&D."

Our Navigate participants met with many collaborators and industry experts during their time here, from these they intended to follow-up with 5-9 of the connections made. Connecting with relevant local experts is one of the most valuable aspects of the Navigate program. Our team carefully curates introductions between the program participants and local members of the business, research, and industry communities to share information, gather insight, and make connections for potential collaboration opportunities.

We asked "Has the Navigate program helped shape what is next for your business? If so, how?"

They shared:

"It has. There were some super helpful research partners that we met, that we have already set up follow on meetings with to assist with some of our research needs. It was helpful from understanding the market and landscape in Canada as a market and entry point to the rest of the North American market"

"Yes, absolutely. We had planned to increase our genomics and molecular biology capabilities in this new phase. We've been trying to establish contacts with companies worldwide that could provide us with these services for a while, but without much success due to their high costs and a lack of experience in plant cells. We believe that the capabilities of both Global Institute for Food Security and National Research Council Canada / Conseil national de recherches Canada can align with what we're looking for. On the other hand, when we finish the optimization stage in our own 50-liter bioreactor in Argentina, the fermentation facilities at the Saskatchewan Food Industry Development Centre Inc. are perfectly compatible with what we need to complete our scaling up process."

We asked "Before participating in the Navigate Program, how confident were you that Saskatchewan would be a good fit for potential expansion?"

The average was 3.4/10 before attending the Navigate program.

We then asked "After participating in the Navigate Program, how confident are you that Saskatchewan would be a good fit for potential expansion?"

The average went up to 9/10 after attending the Navigate program.

All respondents answered yes, that they would establish a Canadian entity within the next five years.

The Navigate program has proven that one of the most effective ways to showcase the value Saskatchewan offers to global start-ups is by bringing them directly into the heart of the local industry and ecosystem. By immersing these entrepreneurs in the province's business landscape, they are able to see firsthand the unique opportunities, resources, and partnerships that Saskatchewan provides. It’s only through this direct engagement—where they can experience the region’s innovative spirit, its thriving sectors, and its collaborative network—that they truly begin to understand the potential and benefits of establishing themselves here. Through this immersive approach, the Navigate program opens doors to long-term growth and meaningful connections for start-ups, enabling them to recognize how Saskatchewan can help them scale and succeed.