News Release
Alaska Entrepreneurs Vie for Seed Money: $600,000 for Innovations that Build Thriving Communities
Anchorage, Alaska – Oct. 21, 2008 – During Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) Convention week, 42 Alaska entrepreneurs will compete for $300,000 in the 2008 Alaska Marketplace Competition. This is the first of two competitions for a total award pool of $600,000. The theme for this year’s competitions is “Innovations for Thriving Communities.” The event will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2008, from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. and Thursday, Oct. 23, 2008, from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. in the ConocoPhillips Atrium, 700 G Street, Anchorage, Alaska.
“What we’ve learned in three years of working with the Alaska Marketplace initiative is that the spirit of innovation and extraordinary potential in Alaska are unleashed when we invest directly in our communities,” says Julie Kitka, President of AFN. “We keep the Alaska Marketplace alive because it encourages people to think creatively about the challenges that face their communities. The caliber and creativity of our finalists are what motivate AFN and our partners year after year to support the Alaska Marketplace Competition.”
Jon Korta, owner of the Yukon Adventure Company, said of the Alaska Marketplace, "It is a great opportunity for entrepreneurs in rural Alaska and is a great tool in helping us to diversify our economies and create jobs for rural Alaskans."
The 42 Alaska Marketplace finalists were selected by a panel of assessors from a pool of 138 applicants. Each applicant was asked to categorize his or her innovation within one of the following sub-themes, which represent the elements that contribute to thriving communities:
1. Affordable Energy: Innovative ways to implement affordable, renewable and alternative energy sources.
2. Practical Use of New Technology: Practical use of new technologies, such as cell phones or digital media, to create village enterprises.
3. Innovative Ideas to Reduce the Cost of Living: Cooperatives or various sharing arrangements that produce practical results and can be replicated—and possibly scaled up—in other communities.
4. Investing in People: Innovative ideas that encourage life-long learning and enable people to thrive in a rapidly-changing world.
5. Rural Housing of the Future: Incorporating energy efficiencies and new cost-effective designs in innovative ways that celebrate traditional cultures and promote community pride.
Of the 42 Marketplace finalists, 22 percent are from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, 7 percent from the Northwest, 11 percent are from Southcentral Alaska, 9 percent from the Southeast, 2 percent from the North Slope region, 9 percent from the Interior, 4 percent from Kodiak, 9 percent from Bering Straits, 7 percent from Bristol Bay, 9 percent from Chugach, and 4 percent from Copper River.
With the help of five two-hour workshops arranged by the Alaska Marketplace team, Marketplace finalists have worked hard over the last few months to prepare comprehensive business plans and budgets. Southcentral area finalists participated in the Anchorage-based workshops in person whenever possible. Finalists from other regions around the state were able to participate by using a toll-free conference number. The workshops, which were attended by roughly half the finalists, were titled as follows: Presenting Your Plan to Marketplace Judges and Others; Rural Alaska Business – Start-up Challenges and Considerations; Plan Overview: Critical Considerations – Alaska Marketplace Competition Criteria and Market Planning; Management/Staffing and Training Planning; and Financial/Account Planning.
The business plans and budgets will be evaluated by a diverse panel of 17 judges. Judges will be divided into five teams to correspond with the sub-themes of the competition. A team of floaters will also evaluate a cross-section of the particpating entrepreneurs. In addition to submitting a written plan, each finalist will have the opportunity to make a five-minute “pitch” to the judges, who subsequently will have five minutes to ask questions before moving onto the next team.
The 2008 Alaska Marketplace theme, “Innovations for Thriving Communities,” reflects the Alaska Federation of Natives’ intent to introduce a new model that stimulates economic activity and community well-being—one that draws not only on the vast resources of Alaska’s land, but on the rich cultural and local knowledge held by Alaska’s people.
AFN Convention delegates and guests are invited to vote in the “People’s Choice Awards,” which honor the public’s favorite business ideas. The categories for this year’s People’s Choice Awards are: Best Display, Most Innovative Idea, and Best Example of Cultural and Traditional Values. The winner of each category will receive a cash prize of $1,000.
The Alaska Marketplace winners will be announced at an official Awards Ceremony held at the AFN Convention on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2008, at 11:25 a.m., in the third floor Main Ballroom of the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center. The next call for proposals on this theme will also be announced.
The Alaska Marketplace is managed by the Alaska Federation of Natives. The investing partners are BP, ConocoPhillips, Denali Commission, Shell, Alyeska, Bristol Bay Native Corporation, and NANA.
For more information about the Alaska Marketplace, please visit www.alaskamarketplace.org or contact Rose Ellis—cell: (907) 952-5214; office: 263-9948; rellis@nativefederation.org or Nelson Angapak, office: 274-3611.
Media Contacts:
For More Information: www.alaskamarketplace.org Contacts:
Rose Ellis
cell: (907) 952-5214; office: 263-9948; rellis@nativefederation.org
Nelson Angapak, AFN Vice-President
Office: (907) 274-3611 nangapak@nativefederation.org
