In this exclusive interview with CanadianSME Small Business Magazine, Elma Antimano, Co-Founder and CMO of EVDrop, shares how her Canadian SaaS startup is making EV charging simpler through real-time availability and reservations. With over 25 years of global experience at Procter & Gamble and Mondelez, she now applies her expertise to clean mobility—bridging driver needs and operator efficiency while advancing sustainable innovation in Canada and beyond.
Elma Antimano is the Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of EVDrop, a Canadian SaaS startup simplifying EV charging through reservations and real-time insights. With over 25 years of global experience in FMCG at Procter & Gamble and Mondelez, she has led innovation and consumer research across Asia, Europe, and North America. Her career has focused on translating consumer needs into scalable product solutions, building pipelines that strike a balance between technical rigor and market strategy.
What inspired you and your co-founders to start EVDrop, and how did your team’s diverse backgrounds contribute to developing your EV charging solution?
EVDrop started quite literally over a dinner among friends who would later become co founders. We shared stories about the frustrations of EV charging and the concerns of those considering the switch to electric—drivers wasting time searching for chargers, not knowing if one would be available, and dealing with range anxiety. Inspired by our professional and personal experiences in Japan, the founding team embraced the Zero Waste spirit and the Japanese concept of Mottainai—which views waste as a loss and emphasizes respect, mindful use, and reuse of resources. This philosophy continues to guide our solutions to accelerate EV adoption. Our founding team brings global Fortune 500 experience across consumer behavior, innovation, and systems design. With our diverse backgrounds, we each bring unique expertise to the table, and that’s the strength of our team—we combine our experiences to design a holistic solution that works for both drivers and operators.
EVDrop focuses on solving frustrations EV owners face with charging. What unique user insights did you uncover during development, and how do those insights shape your platform design?
Through our research into the EV ecosystem, two frustrations stood out. Drivers often worry about whether a charger will be available or even working when they need it. Operators, on the other hand, see their chargers sitting unused for long periods, which hurts efficiency and revenue. These problems are closely linked. When drivers have a better experience, they charge more often. That increases utilization, which gives operators confidence to invest in more chargers. More chargers mean greater availability and less frustration for drivers. It creates a positive cycle that strengthens the entire system. EVDrop was designed with this in mind—addressing both sides at once. We give drivers peace of mind and operators stronger results, helping EV adoption grow faster and more sustainably.
In what ways does EVDrop’s real-time availability and reservation system benefit both EV drivers and charging station operators, and what impact have you observed on infrastructure utilization?
For EV drivers, the biggest benefit of EVDrop’s reservation system is certainty. They no longer need to guess if a charger will be available when they arrive. With real-time availability and the option to book ahead, drivers save time, reduce stress, and can plan their trips with confidence. For charging operators, the system creates higher and more predictable utilization. By combining reservations with real-time data, operators gain valuable insights into demand patterns—such as peak hours, average charging times, and underused locations. This helps them manage operations more effectively, reduce downtime, and plan future investments with greater confidence. In short, drivers get a more reliable charging experience, while operators gain stronger returns from their infrastructure. Both sides benefit, creating a healthier and more sustainable EV charging ecosystem.
How do you see EVDrop supporting Canada’s goal of becoming an innovation leader in EV adoption, and what are your future plans to scale or expand your service?
Canada has set ambitious goals for EV adoption, backed by more than $1 billion in clean transport investment. A major step toward achieving this is making charging more reliable and predictable. EVDrop supports this by embedding reservations into the charging experience, giving drivers confidence and helping operators manage resources more effectively. We are starting in closed systems such as colleges, universities, hotels, and condominiums, where usage patterns can be tested and refined. Looking ahead, our goal is to expand into broader community areas where charging demand is growing. Our solutions— beevrGO for EV drivers and beevrDASH for operators—are hardware-agnostic and software integration–ready, built to promote interoperability across chargepoints and democratize access. This ensures that our platform can scale easily, adapt to different partners, and support Canada’s clean mobility goals. By focusing on both user needs and operator efficiency, EVDrop aims to accelerate EV adoption and serve as a model for innovation both in Canada and globally.
Finally, what is the most critical advice you would give to small- and medium-sized business leaders hoping to innovate in emerging technology sectors?
My most important advice is to stay open and collaborative. In fast-moving industries, no business can succeed alone. Building strong connections—with schools, industry partners, and even other startups—can speed up learning, open doors to opportunities, and build trust with customers. Collaboration helps businesses grow faster and avoid working in isolation. It’s also important to stay close to your users and be ready to adapt as their needs change. For small- and medium-sized business leaders, combining openness, user focus, and strong partnerships is what turns ideas into solutions that can scale. Innovation doesn’t happen alone—it happens in ecosystems.
