Gov’t of Canada invests to accelerate product, market growth of locally developed IT business

Today, Member of Parliament, Terry Sheehan, was joined in Ottawa by “ Saultite” Melissa Kargiannakis, Founder and CEO of skritswap Inc., as he announced on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, and Minister responsible for FedNor, and on behalf of Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion, two investments totaling $900,000 for Skritswap Inc.

Sault Ste. Marie has a wealth of innovators like Melissa, eager to help drive our economy forward. Our government’s investment in her company Skritswap Inc., will help unleash the economic and job creation potential of this homegrown and forward-thinking information technology company.” said, Terry Sheehan, Member of Parliament for Sault Ste. Marie.

“Our government is committed to helping women entrepreneurs and women-led companies, such as Skritswap Inc., grow and succeed in the global economy. Today’s investment in support of product development and market expansion is helping the company take the next step in its business evolution that will create good, middle-class jobs for Canadians.” said, Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, and Minister responsible for FedNor

This funding will enable Skritswap Inc., a growing information technology company, to make information more accessible by changing the reading level. Information at lower reading levels removes barriers for the 47% of Canadian adults experience low literacy.

“I would like to thank the Government of Canada, through FedNor, for its support to help take my business to the next level. In a year and a half, we have doubled in team size creating jobs in artificial intelligence right here in Ontario. As a young, female founder who started this company in my hometown of Sault Ste Marie, I am grateful for the resources from the Government of Canada to continue building on skritswap’s momentum.” said, –Melissa Kargiannakis, Founder and CEO, Skritswap Inc.

First, an interest-free loan of $800,000 will help Skritswap to build, test, and commercialize an artificial language platform to convert complex language found in technical documents – such as employment contracts, wills, or medical instructions – into plain, everyday language. Imagine an entire mortgage swapped to a grade 6 reading level at the click of a button. An additional grant of $100,000, through the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy, will pave the way for a new patent and support the company’s growth into the United States.

“Our government believes that women’s economic empowerment is not just the right thing to do, it’s good for the bottom line. That’s why we launched the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy, a strategy that seeks to double the number of women-owned businesses by increasing their access to financing, networks and advice. It’s a smart investment with an economic and social return. I’m proud to say that there is no better government under which to be a woman in Canada’s history.” said, Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion.