EntrepreNorth creates new partnership with Mastercard Foundation to amplify innovation in Northern communities

Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Yukon – June 17, 2020 – EntrepreNorth is honoured to announce a new partnership with the Mastercard Foundation that will see $1 million invested over three years into the growth of Northern entrepreneurship for Indigenous youth.

​“This partnership represents a significant investment into the North that will help create a new generation of community business leaders,” says EntrepreNorth Project Director Ben Scott. “We want to help entrepreneurs create businesses that embed their own cultural values into the products and services they offer. The support from the Mastercard Foundation allows EntrepreNorth to advance our thought leadership work on Indigenous-centred business education and practices.”

Over the next three years, EntrepreNorth will continue to deliver its flagship Cohort-based Entrepreneur Growth Program and expand to offer community-based ideation workshops in the Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. The partnership will include work on advancing thought leadership on Indigenous entrepreneurship, building capacity through experiential business education, mobilizing a Northern entrepreneurship ecosystem, and facilitating access to capital.

“We recognize the power of entrepreneurship in Northern communities and the important and innovative role of EntrepreNorth in building business leadership capacity,” says Mastercard Foundation President and CEO Reeta Roy. “Creating more access to quality programming and fostering a vibrant entrepreneurial environment helps individuals with ideas overcome barriers and become catalysts of social change within their own communities.”

The Mastercard Foundation is guided by its mission to advance learning and promote financial inclusion to create a world where everyone has the opportunity to learn and prosper. The unique collaboration between EntrepreNorth and the Foundation illustrates a new approach to create capacity building amongst Northern Indigenous business owners. Building stronger capacities, stronger businesses, and stronger individuals will strengthen the entire region.

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About EntrepreNorth:
EntrepreNorth empowers Indigenous and community-based entrepreneurs to build sustainable businesses and livelihoods across Northern Canada. Launched in 2018, it delivers culturally-grounded business programming to early-stage entrepreneurs in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and the Yukon who are ready to elevate their business and community impact. EntrepreNorth is a project on MakeWay’s shared platform, which provides operational supports, governance, and charitable expertise for changemakers. The shared platform enables more time and money to go towards achieving greater impact. MakeWay is a national charity that builds partnerships and solutions to help nature and communities thrive together. For more information, visit: www.entreprenorth.ca

About the Mastercard Foundation:
​The Mastercard Foundation works with visionary organizations to enable young people in Africa and in Indigenous communities in Canada to access dignified and fulfilling work.  It is one of the largest, private foundations in the world with a mission to advance learning and promote financial inclusion to create an inclusive and equitable world. The Foundation was created by Mastercard in 2006 as an independent organization with its own Board of Directors and management. For more information on the Foundation, please visit: www.mastercardfdn.org