Imagine having to uproot your life in the blink of an eye to ensure your family’s safety.
That’s what millions of Ukrainians now have to do as they flee the ongoing war in their country. And that’s why Canadian tech companies are stepping up to help them.
Tech founders Kostyantyn Khomutov of Ottawa-based GBatteries and Solon Angel of MindBridge are leading a new initiative called “Ukraine to Canada,” which helps refugees make their way out of the war zone.
What happens next: Since the initiative started in March, more than 20 families have connected with Kostyantyn and his team, sharing their stories and struggles and looking for support. One of the families, Viktoriia and her two children, was forced to pack up their lives in a hurry as they heard explosions outside their home. She asked that her last name not be published to protect her family’s safety.
We decided to leave our town,” Viktoriia told Ukraine to Canada. “Our house had already been bombed and there was nothing left to lose.
She is currently in Poland and Ukraine to Canada volunteers are helping with her family’s visa applications to relocate here.
The right thing to do: Khomutov and Angel jumped into action as the Ukrainian refugee crisis grew too big to ignore.
The war in Ukraine is having a devastating impact on regular, peaceful citizens that want to live their normal lives,” said Khomutov, who was born in Ukraine. “As a group of immigrants and fellow human beings ourselves, we identified the clear and immediate need to facilitate shelter and stability for Ukrainian citizens fleeing their homes.
Not only is the initiative helping refugees relocate and find a place to stay in Canada, economic development agency Invest Ottawa is also helping their effort by providing office space for workers who were forced to upend their careers in Ukraine.
Tech stepping up: “Ukraine to Canada” follows a larger tech community trend with other ventures extending help for those displaced by the war. Airbnb.org is offering free, short-term housing to up to 100,000 refugees fleeing Ukraine. There is also the Tech For Ukraine campaign, which has recruited more than 450 IT companies from 40 countries. The firms will help NGOs for free to address digital challenges, including protecting against Russian cyberattacks.
Understanding and solving consumers’ concerns with electric vehicles
The federal and Ontario governments are putting the pedal to the metal when it comes to electric hybrid vehicles. They each announced more than $130 million to upgrade a Honda plant in Alliston to produce hybrid EVs.
Why are governments giving EVs the green light? More Canadians are looking to pump the brakes on gas vehicles. With the price of fuel spiking to record highs, a new KPMG survey found that 61 per cent of Canadians say our vulnerable oil supply has convinced them it’s time to buy an EV. Thirty per cent say they regret they haven’t bought an EV already.
In the third quarter of 2020, just 3.5 per cent of total new vehicles registered in Canada were zero-emission vehicles. While the desire to own EVs has increased this year, some issues may be holding buyers back. This includes the time it takes to charge the vehicle, how much range the battery has and the lack of charging infrastructure.
Solutions are accelerating: These issues are widely recognized and several Canadian companies are looking to solve them. Toronto-based Li Metal is designing new technologies that will help produce cheaper, cleaner batteries that will help EVs travel farther and address the “charge and range anxiety” for prospective owners.
“Our efforts will help improve the range, safety, and cost of an EV,” said Maciej Jastrzebski, co-founder and CEO of Li Metal. “We produce ultrathin metallic lithium anodes that are designed to reduce the cost of the batteries while at the same time improving the energy density.”
Toronto’s Peak Power has developed technologies that allow EVs to provide backup power to homes and sell electricity back to the grid during moments of peak demand. The company says this creates income for drivers that will offset the cost of owning an EV.
“EVs are thought of as a mobility asset. We see EVs as a form of mobile energy storage,” said Matthew Sachs, chief operating officer of Peak Power. “When connected to industrial facilities or commercial buildings, battery energy storage can help balance supply and demand on the grid, reducing the most polluting and most expensive hours of energy use.”
Major accomplishment for Indigenous tech leader
Bobbie Racette has made Canadian tech history. She is one of the first Indigenous women to close a Series A round for her company The Virtual Gurus, which raised $8.4 million.
The Calgary-based venture uses technology to match organizations with virtual assistants from Canada and the U.S. It helps them with administration and bookkeeping, customer service support and other tasks like marketing. It also provides income-earning opportunities to under-represented individuals. Racette says it is important to have diversity in the innovation and tech sectors.
“It says something about the lack of representation that I’m the only (Indigenous woman) to close a Series A so far,” said Racette. “There just isn’t a lot of representation. That’s why I’m hoping to inspire other Indigenous women to pursue tech careers and launch their own ventures.”
Addressing systemic challenges: Racette says society needs to get past this concept of money trauma, the idea that Indigenous people don’t have the financial skills. She also says investors need to have confidence in Indigenous women to successfully build a business.
Racette’s accomplishment is a Canadian rarity. According to a report by the Innovation Economy Council, there is a need to support more Indigenous founders in tech. Only 39 per cent of the 36 hubs covered in the report track information about Indigenous identity. Of those 14 hubs, only six report supporting ventures with at least one Indigenous founder.
“Additional research on the Indigenous technology market and landscape is needed to help inform investors of the great potential within the community,” said Jarret Leaman, co-founder of the Centre for Indigenous Innovation and Technology. “Only then will we be able to see more Indigenous technology founders entering Series A.”
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