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Indigenous business pitch contest enters eighth year

Deadline to submit a business idea to Pow Wow Pitch is June 21
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Sunshine Tenasco, the founder of Pow Wow Pitch, appeared on the CBC show Dragons' Den in 2010 to pitch her idea for hand-made baby moccasins.

Indigenous entrepreneurs have until June 21 to submit their business ideas to the 2022 Pow Wow Pitch competition.

The annual event, now in its eighth year, invites Indigenous entrepreneurs from across Canada and the U.S. to pitch their best business ideas for a chance to win $200,000 in prizes.

The competition is open to Indigenous, First Nations, Inuit, and Métis participants of any age, and to businesses from any industry. Both startup businesses and existing enterprises looking to grow can participate.

Pow Wow Pitch was launched in 2015 by Sunshine Tenasco, an Indigenous entrepreneur from Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg, an Algonquin First Nation in Quebec.

A former competitor on the CBC pitch show Dragons' Den, Tenasco’s inspiration has been to present more Indigenous entrepreneurs with a path to self-sufficiency through entrepreneurship.

A number of Northern Ontario entrepreneurs have participated over the years, including Goulais River’s Tiana Byrnes, founder of Twin Equipment and Tool Rentals Ltd., who was selected as a semifinalist in 2021.

Participants have until June 2021 to submit their one-minute pitch to the contest.

Regional semi-finalists will be announced on July 8, and finalists will be announced on Sept. 22.