Young entrepreneurs vie for grants, bursaries at Iqaluit event

Dragon’s Den it wasn’t, but the young Indigenous entrepreneurs who pitched ideas during the Innovation Jam at Iqaluit’s Aqsarniit hotel Thursday meant business just the same.

The sustainable-business brainstorm was part of the three-day SevenGen Indigenous Youth Energy Summit that started Tuesday in Iqaluit.

More than a dozen teams of up to six members created three-minute business proposals for a panel of judges, including Inuk climate activist and author Sheila Watt-Cloutier, in hopes of winning a share of close to $20,000 in grants and bursaries.

Alissa Matoo, 25, of Arviat explains her team’s proposal for a country food butcher shop and cultural centre during Thursday’s Innovation Jam at the Aqsarniit hotel in Iqaluit. (Photo by Daron Letts)

The approximately 80 youths who participated spun 15 business proposals ranging from eco-tourism to an environmentally friendly Indigenous clothing line.

“Our mission is to lighten the load of our environmental impact,” said Jukipa Kotierk, 30, currently based in Iqaluit but with family in Igloolik, who participated on one team.

Allana Nakashook-Zettler, 22, who is living in Toronto with family in Pangnirtung, proposed a kind of reboot of TED talks (technology, entertainment, design) intended to share the voices of Indigenous youth and elders in their languages.

Another pitch, led by Alissa Matoo, 25, of Arviat, proposed a country food butcher shop powered by wind and solar energy. The shop would also serve as a hub for storytelling, traditional skills workshops and cultural advocacy.

“Our goal with this butcher store based in Nunavut would be to provide opportunities for hunters so that hunters can provide for those who do not have the transportation to hunt, and for widows, single people and elders so that we could distribute the meat equally,” said Matoo.

“We would also keep the traditional culture alive so that younger generations can learn their traditional ways.”

Winners were to be announced at Thursday night’s closing ceremony.

“It was impressive,” Watt-Cloutier said as she left the auditorium to confer with fellow judges. “We’re in good hands.”

The Innovation Jam marked the final event for the summit, which brought together 105 youth delegates and more than 50 presenters, performers and organizers, representing all provinces and territories.

It included speakers, panels on environment-related topics, and skills and career development workshops.

Roughly half of the youth delegates attended from northern communities, including 13 students from Nunavut Arctic College in Iqaluit.