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Manitoba’s NDP government has provided funding to another private company, this time to the province’s technology sector.
Premier Wab Kinew’s Cabinet on March 18 approved a $475,000 loan to JasperVOCAL, a Winnipeg startup that provides artificial intelligence-powered cold call screening for insurance companies.
Caedmon Marowany, a spokesperson for Manitoba Minister of Business, Mines, Trade and Job Creation Jamie Moses, said the loan was extended under a provincial program aimed at supporting Manitoba businesses investing in “productivity-enhancing projects.”
The Kinew government has provided a $10 million grant and $13.4 million in interest forgiveness on an existing $50 million loan in 2024 to help Winnipeg’s NFI Group expand its manufacturing capacity.
In 2025, the NDP government provided Palliser Furniture with a $15 million loan guarantee, in what Moses described as an effort to “protect Manitoba jobs.” The company continued to reduce its workforce in Manitoba by a net 20 people.
The grant to JasperVOCAL was made through the Manitoba Development Corporation, a Crown corporation that supports businesses and investors. JasperVOCAL made the request under the Trade Growth Investment Financing Program, Marowanyi said.
Marco Soares, JasperVOCAL’s 21-year-old president and CEO, said his five-employee company recently raised $995,000 from Winnipeg investors.
He said the Winnipeg company helps insurance companies reach potential customers over the phone without outsourcing the work to a call center.
“Our system scales automatically based on the number of people we need to call and calls you right away,” Soares said in an interview from London.
“So if someone is interested and tries to leave within the first three minutes, we keep calling them up to eight to 10 times.”
Soares said the AI service will ask customers personalized questions based on the ads they click. If a caller is interested in purchasing insurance, they will be routed to a resident agent, Soares said.
A company established for political activities
The entrepreneur said his company’s technology was initially developed to call people and identify potential voters for political campaigns.
“We pivoted to the insurance industry because they need the same applications,” said Soares, who calls himself independent.
JasperVOCAL provided campaign services to Damir Stipanovic, a Conservative Party candidate in the 2023 Winnipeg South Center federal by-election, according to JasperVOCAL’s former president and CEO Peter Smith.
Mr. Smith retired from these positions in November 2025, when he became leader of Manitoba’s Progressive Conservative Party.
Mr. Smith said that in addition to being a director, he will also remain an investor in JasperVOCAL. He is listed on the company’s website as chief financial officer.
