Manitoba First Fund announces limited partner Commitment to SVG Ventures | THRIVE Pioneer Fund to Strengthen Ag-Tech Innovation in Manitoba

09 December 2025, Winnipeg: The Manitoba First Fund (MFF) today announced a limited partner commitment to the Pioneer Fund, managed by SVG Ventures | THRIVE, a leading global agrifood innovation and investment platform. This commitment underscores confidence in SVG Ventures’ track record and reflects Manitoba’s growing position as a hub for agricultural innovation.

The Pioneer Fund backs early-stage technology companies across the agri-food value chain. MFF’s investment reflects its commitment to supporting high-growth sectors and connecting Manitoba to global networks of innovation and capital. The partnership also complements SVG Ventures’ expanding presence in Canada, which includes a strategic collaboration with the Enterprise Machine Intelligence & Learning Initiative (EMILI) and its Innovation Farms (powered by Ag Expert) in Manitoba.

SVG Ventures’ collaboration with EMILI builds awareness of EMILI’s platform to early-stage companies to validate and demonstrate their technologies in real-world conditions. This relationship will also bring companies from SVG Ventures’ global ecosystem to Manitoba, connecting them with local producers, research partners, and industry leaders, while supporting the growth of Manitoba-based ag-tech innovators.

Ken Ross, CEO of the Manitoba First Fund, said that the investment represents a natural alignment with the province’s innovation priorities. “We are proud to invest in the SVG Ventures Pioneer Fund and to support its growing presence in Manitoba and across Canada,” said Ross. “SVG’s global reputation for advancing agricultural innovation aligns perfectly with our mandate to foster growth and attract investment into Manitoba’s emerging technology sectors. This investment helps connect Manitoba’s strengths in agriculture and innovation to global opportunities.”

“The investment from the Manitoba First Fund is a strong endorsement of our strategy in Canada, and reinforces the firm’s confidence in Manitoba’s innovation potential” said John Cassidy, Managing Director of SVG Ventures in Canada “We see tremendous opportunity in Manitoba to accelerate ag-tech innovation through local partnerships and the strength of the province’s agricultural sector. Our collaboration with EMILI’s Innovation Farms creates a real-world platform to test and deploy technology while connecting Manitoba’s innovators with SVG’s global ecosystem.”

“We are delighted to welcome the Manitoba First Fund as a limited partner in our Pioneer Fund, alongside Farm Credit Canada as our anchor investor,” said John Hartnett, Founder & CEO of SVG Ventures. “Our mission is to identify great companies, scale them globally, and deploy their technologies to solve the most pressing challenges in agriculture. With the support of partners like MFF and FCC, we can connect innovative founders with our global corporate network and accelerate real-world impact across the agri-food sector.”

Through this combination of provincial investment, global expertise, and local collaboration, Manitoba is set to benefit from new opportunities for innovation, commercialization, and job creation in the ag-tech sector. The partnership reflects a growing commitment to sustainability, productivity, and technological advancement across the agricultural landscape.

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