Calgary-based HEMPALTA, an AgTech company focused on producing commercial and consumer products derived from industrial hemp, has begun trading under the symbol HEMP on the TSX Venture Exchange with a $17.5 million market cap.
The company is included on Calgary.tech’s watchlist of startups with a bright future.
“We were very excited to make our debut on the TSX Venture Exchange,” said Darren Bondar, President and CEO of HEMPALTA. “This milestone was due to the unwavering commitment and tireless efforts of our exceptional team at HEMPALTA.”
The announcement comes after the successful completion of an RTO with Trail Blazing Ventures, a capital pool company created to seek out a company to help fund.
The move by Bondar to secure money through a shell company, list on the TSXV, and trade publicly is not one preferred by tech companies. In fact, it comes after many tech companies have been terminating their public listings. This makes Bondar and his team an outlier. But they’ve shown they can be creative — including raising funds through crowdfunding with FrontFundr in 2022 to north of $1.1 million.
Most tech startups choose to raise funds in initial rounds like crowdfunding or through accelerators, angel investors, and venture capital companies. Going the public company route has typically, and most recently, been reserved for larger operating companies or those scaling up in size. That said, HEMPALTA gains initial liquidity, a transparent trading price, and the ability to generate interest with a broad swath of retail investors.
“I’ve been involved in public companies in the past so I’m comfortable with how we fund, how we invest capital, and how we will disclose operating results,” says Bondar. “I see many positives being public and that includes attracting those investors looking to support a healthier and more sustainable environment through industrial hemp processing.”
A leader in agricultural innovation, Bondar suggests HEMPALTA is more than just a company with its vision for “Hemp To Better The Planet.”
The company brings in hemp straw to its production facility in Calgary where it uses patented HempTrain technology to separate the straw into high-value streams used to create products. These include commercial building material, animal bedding, cat litter, food preservation pads, and soil amendment. The products are available through online channels like Amazon and Lowe’s and at major retailers like Home Hardware and UFA.
More recently, HEMPALTA has entered the industrial hemp carbon credit space through a strategic partnership with UK-based Hemp Carbon Standard. Bondar is focused on spearheading the hemp carbon credit industry both locally and globally through this relationship.
The industrial hemp market is projected to triple to $17 billion by 2030 with North America representing 40% of that market.
Bondar noted he’s excited for HEMPALTA’s future opportunities and expects the public listing will bring new investors to hemp and help bolster his company’s growth strategy.
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