TELUS this month announced the winners of its sixth annual #StandWithOwners contest for small businesses in Canada.
Since 2020, TELUS has invested over $6 million through the #StandWithOwners program, providing funding, technology, and exposure to help businesses thrive in a digital world.
“The thousands of applications we reviewed this year told remarkable stories of businesses that have truly Made It in Canada,” stated Katherine Emberly, President of Small and Medium Business at TELUS.
“It’s the perfect time to highlight our #StandWithOwners winners who embody the spirit of Canadian entrepreneurship while making a meaningful difference in their communities,” Emberly said.
The grand prize winners each receive a $200,000 prize package from TELUS, including $75,000 in direct funding, $80,000 in advertising and business exposure, $35,000 in technology, and $10,000 in TELUS Health wellbeing support.
Among the winners is UKKÖ Robotics, an upstart based out of Notre Dame de Lourdes in Manitoba promoting small farmers through regenerative agriculture innovation.
UKKÖ founders Daniel Badiou and Katrina Jean-Laflamme say their robotics firm addresses the need for efficient solutions to automate livestock pasture management via autonomous solar-powered barns.
Their flagship product, the ROVA Barn, features a floor-less design and autonomously moves small livestock to fresh pasture areas multiple times daily, which reduces the environmental impact of livestock farming while decreasing labour.
Nova Scotia’s Ashored Innovations, meanwhile, is in the business of solving marine life entanglement in fishing gear through modern technologies.
Inspired by a 2017 North Atlantic right whale unusual mortality event, Ashored retrofits existing lobster and crab traps with underwater buoys that use acoustic release technology to surface only when remotely activated by fishermen.