FOLLOWING THE LAUNCH of the London Innovation Challenge, TechAlliance of Southwestern Ontario, along with an adjudication panel of London industry leaders, have selected Caring Support, Locorum and Zersent as the winners of the first challenge.
The winning firms will each receive $20,000 to advance their innovation and contribute to London’s economic recovery, in addition to advisory support through TechAlliance’s venture growth team.
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According to TechAlliance CEO, Christina Fox, the three winning companies each have a unique focus on what it means to reimagine systems for people, and and address system inequities with innovation.
“The adjudicators came together and prioritized disruptive and innovative businesses that are strategically focused on fostering change” says Fox.
Caring Support, founded by Joseph Jongsma, is a dedicated healthcare employment platform transforming the hiring process in the industry. By going directly to the source – post secondary healthcare education programs, they are reimagining the healthcare hiring process. By developing this end of the business, Caring Support can capture the full funnel of healthcare workers seeking equitable and inclusive workplaces.
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Locorum, spearheaded by co-founder and CEO Jeff Duke, removes the barriers to entry for entrepreneurs wanting to start a small local business. Locorum is a business rewards platform for local merchants. Their goal is to expand locally, foster entrepreneurship at every level, and reach more business owners in London that can benefit from barriers to market entry.
Zersent, led by founder and CEO Aniket Bhatt, is a digital tool powered by AI and machine learning, to facilitate inclusive and equitable hiring practices in any organization. The software highlights and removes cultural insensitivities, biases, and misused language from job postings to ensure inclusivity remains at the forefront of the talent acquisition process. To reimagine these systems, Zersent will host digital training sessions with London employers to understand the concept of equitable hiring, and the value that lies within a system like this.
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“These champions have a deep understanding of what it means to innovate for London,” continues Fox. “Not only are they disrupting industries, they also embody TechAlliance values of being bold, impactful and real, all of which drive immediate and equitable growth and prosperity in our local innovation economy.”
London Innovation Challenge Two launches November 22, 2021. You can read more about the Challenge One recipients here.
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