FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FLAGSTAFF, AZ—The Native American Business Incubator Network (NABIN) and Catapult Design are excited to announce the Innovation Challenge, a competition open to Native American entrepreneurs. The winner will receive a $5,000 cash prize and one year of business counseling and support services (valued at $15,000). Three runners-up will receive one year of business incubation services. Applications are due March 17, 2017.
“The promotion of small businesses is necessary because they truly have a finger on the pulse of meeting consumer needs,” said Crystal Deschinny, director of the Navajo Nation Division of Economic Development.
The Innovation Challenge is open to tribal members from tribes in New Mexico or Arizona whose small business ideas offer a solution to a challenge faced by tribal communities in the modern world. With Native communities often marginalized in today’s commercial climate, the competition aims to support business solutions for Native people, by Native people.
“We’ve witnessed a growth in entrepreneurial community members with great ideas to help their communities,” said Catapult CEO Heather Fleming. “What we want to do is empower those individuals, and give them the tools they need to realize their ideas to create real and positive change in tribal communities.”
The Innovation Challenge seeks highly motivated individuals or teams with sustainable ideas or business proposals that are in the start-up or mid-growth phase. Proposals must demonstrate an ability to benefit from a cash infusion of $5,000, with the potential for more funding based on milestones achieved. The winning proposal will also be provided with mentors who can assist the entrepreneur in moving the proposal forward. Three additional proposals will also be chosen for one year of incubation services.
“This competition is designed to give Native problem-solvers the opportunity to cultivate their ideas into viable solutions with real impacts in Native communities by pairing the creativity and survival skills that have been the cornerstone of Native American life with the innovation and technology available today,” said NABIN Director Jessica Stago. “We seek Native changemakers who are ready to tackle challenges such as water and power delivery, housing, or road conditions in our communities through an innovative and entrepreneurial approach.”
Innovation Challenge applications became available January 17, 2017 and are due March 17, 2017. The first-round application can be downloaded at www.nativestartup.org. Applicants who make it to the second round will be asked to create a proposal video to supplement their written application. The winner will be announced in June 2017.
The 2017 Innovation Challenge is sponsored by the Native American Business Incubator Network, an organization supporting entrepreneurship in Native communities, and Catapult Design, a design company who supports socially driven companies around the world.
