Relationship intelligence company Introhive, which is one of the larger tech employers in Fredericton, has received almost $1 million in funding from the federal government to increase its foreign sales.

The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency issued a press release Tuesday saying the company would receive a loan of $918,745 through the Business Development Program for international market expansion and product development. Introhive will also receive a grant of $50,000 from the Productivity and Business Skills stream for global sales training.

Based in Washington, D.C., and Fredericton, Introhive produces “relationship intelligence” software that helps enterprise clients and others improve the efficiency of their customer relationship, or CRM, systems. The company was founded in 2012 by serial entrepreneurs Jody Glidden and Stewart Walchli, who are based in Washington, and it has a large development team in Fredericton.

“ACOA has supported Introhive for years as we grew exponentially and opened offices around the world,” said CEO Glidden in a statement. “Introhive successfully entered European and Asian markets and [is] experiencing rapid growth globally.  We are investing in job creation and product innovation right here in Atlantic Canada. In 2018 alone, we were able to more than double our employee growth rate in our Canadian offices.’’

The ACOA statement said Introhive will use the money to expand in the United States and Europe, through product development to meet specific geographical and industry needs and global sales training for its employees.

Introhive employs 174 people, including 72 in Fredericton, 21 in Saint John, and 11 in Halifax. The company has additional staff in Vancouver, the U.S., the U.K., and India.

In June 2018, Introhive raised US$15.2 million (C$20.2 million) in equity and debt financing, led by Toronto-based venture capital firm Lake Bridge Capital. The funding included a loan from Espresso Capital, which was worth less than 20 percent of the total, meaning the equity portion of the round was worth as much as C$16.2 million.

Disclosure: ACOA is a client of Entrevestor.