Justin Young: Hi everybody. I'm Justin Young, a partner in Osler's Emerging and high Growth Companies group and a contributor to the Deal Points Report.
I'm really pleased today to welcome Erin Trapp. Erin's a partner at Emmertech, a leading Canadian venture capital firm specializing in agtech and agribusiness innovation. Erin plays a pivotal role in shaping the firm's investment strategy, serving on the investment committee and working closely with portfolio companies on governance, financial operations and growth. Prior to Emmertech, Erin was vice president, product and strategy, at TD Asset Management and held senior roles at Greystone Managed Investments before it was acquired by TD. A CFA charterholder. Erin also oversees the financial and operational management of Emmertech's funds.
What does Emmertech does and what you invest in?
So Erin, really happy to have you here today. Can we just start with you giving us a brief description of what Emmertech does and what you invest in?
Erin Trapp: For sure, yeah. We're an agriculture-focused fund investing in ag technologies and agribusiness innovation around the world. So our goal is to invest in the latest technologies to develop tools to help farmers reduce costs and boost production. And we really think about the portfolio in three main buckets: robotics, next-generation input companies and software companies, all with the goal of bringing the most impactful technologies to Canadian growers and producers that'll help drive net farm income over the decades to come.
How do you see your focus evolving for this year?
Justin Young: So Erin, tell me a little bit more about Emmertech, your goals for 2025. Where is your focus in terms of making investments? Obviously you have those broad three categories, but agritech, agribusiness is a really broad category. How do you see your focus evolving for this year?
Erin Trapp: For sure. Yeah, like I said, we think about the portfolio and all of our investment thesis in these three main buckets. So robotics companies with, really, the goal of addressing labour challenges for primary producers across all types of agriculture. Next-generation input companies, so replacing synthetic chemistries with biological solutions to grow better crops and enhance soil health. And then the third bucket is software companies, to provide growers the insights they need to power better decision and better decision-making on the farms, and really to grow and enable growth of net farm income. So throughout 2025, our investment plans largely align with these three buckets as we believe these are the technologies that'll be most impactful to Canadian agriculture over the next decade and future decades.
Is it more important than ever to invest in Canadian-made solutions?
Justin Young: Yeah, interesting. We talk about 2025, I think, for most people in the world, it's gotten off to a different start in some ways than we all expected in the venture community and just generally across geopolitical lines. And our current geopolitical climate obviously has changed the way people think about a lot of things, including investing in Canada and Canadian-made solutions and Canadian tech. So with this climate, given how important agriculture is to our country, do you see it as more important than ever to invest in those Canadian-made solutions to develop tools to help Canadian farmers reduce costs and boost production?
Erin Trapp: For sure, yeah. I think your comment on geopolitical climate, there's certainly been a lot of noise lately. I think as a venture fund and as an investment manager, we are fortunate to take a long-term view when we're making investments. So we're thinking 10-plus years into the future, so we try to the best of our ability to not be overly distracted by the volatility of the market. However, the noise of anything has reminded us how critical Canadian agriculture is and how we certainly, as Canadians and as Canada, have the right to win in this space. So, by supporting domestic innovations and also by bringing world-class technologies back to Canada, we can develop tools that help Canadian farmers boost production, increase net farm income and solidify Canada as a global leader in agriculture. So our group and Emmertech have always been extremely bullish on Canadian agriculture, so this state of affairs in the world or the geopolitical climate and the volatility of everything, if anything, has strengthened our conviction in this sector and gives us a lot of positivity going forward. We think there's a lot of opportunity here, and if anything, now is the time to capitalize on it.
Have most of your investments have been in Canadian technology?
Justin Young: Yeah, that's a great story and a great approach. In terms of your current portfolio, I think most of your investments have been in Canadian technology. Is that accurate?
Erin Trapp: Correct. Yes. We've invested in 10 core portfolio companies, nine of which are based in Canada, and one company, it's based in Australia. And sort of fitting that section of the thesis where it's like, invest in the best Canadian-made solutions, and then find the best solutions in the world and bring them back to Canada to help power the Canadian agriculture sector. And so that's the example of SwarmFarm Robotics, which is our Australian-based robotics company.
Justin Young: That's great. It's great to have Emmertech leaning into one of our core industries in the country and really focusing on innovation in a way that can be really impactful.
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