Supporting early-stage indigenous entrepreneurs
Today, Pow Wow Pitch, North America’s premier pitch competition and non-profit organization supporting emerging Indigenous entrepreneurs, announced a three-year partnership with Mitacs for its 2022 Pow Wow Pitch Program.
Set to support more than 2,500 Indigenous entrepreneurs in 2022 with mentorship, funding, training, marketing and a safe and trusted community of support, Mitacs’s investment is helping Pow Wow Pitch to scale its virtual programs, re-enter communities with on-the-ground support across Canada, and scale its programming to support Indigenous entrepreneurs in the United States and New Zealand.
Over the next three years, Mitacs will support Pow Wow Pitch as a Community-Level Sponsor and engage its employees as mentors, trusted advisors, and judges for virtual pitch contests and on the ground at pow wows across Canada. In addition, this year, Mitacs will support Pow Wow Pitch Finalists to connect with researchers and Mitacs innovation programs for ongoing support.
“Mitacs and Pow Wow Pitch share a vision of breaking down silos between Indigenous-led research, innovation and enterprise development, which will lead to new breakthroughs and opportunities for Indigenous-led economic growth and social progress,” said Sunshine Tenasco, the Founder of Pow Wow Pitch. “We are delighted to partner with Mitacs to support Indigenous entrepreneurs to work more closely with Indigenous researchers at colleges and universities across Canada.”
Dr. John Hepburn, CEO of Mitacs, is enthusiastic about the partnership. “Mitacs is thrilled to collaborate through the Pow Wow Pitch with Indigenous businesses and not-for-profit organizations, which will help to empower Indigenous innovation in partnership with academia. As we recover from COVID-19, we’re eager to work with Indigenous organizations and interns as they reach their innovation goals.”
To learn more about the partnership between Pow Wow Pitch and Mitacs, visit https://www.powwowpitch.org/mitacs.