New Initiative To Connect N.S. Indigenous Businesses, Ocean Tech Companies
HALIFAX — A first-of-its-kind initiative in Atlantic Canada’s ocean tech sector will connect Indigenous businesses with ocean tech companies to collaborate on projects that “improve the sustainability of our ocean and our communities.”
Samqwane’jk will invite Indigenous ocean businesses in Atlantic Canada to propose projects in partnership with ocean technology companies at the Centre for Ocean Ventures and Entrepreneurship (COVE). Programs that are selected will receive support and funding.
The program is being delivered by Ulnooweg Development Group, together with COVE and Upswing Solutions.
Funding for the program, to the tune of $857,000, will come through the federal government’s Sustainable Development Goals Program.
“By fostering partnerships between Indigenous ocean-food and technology companies and the ocean technology sector, we have the opportunity to develop solutions for a better and sustainable world,” said COVE CEO Melanie Nadeau. “We are excited to continue to work with Ulnooweg and Upswing on this project, to provide opportunities and support for entrepreneurs and innovators in Indigenous communities.”
Chris Googoo is the COO at Ulnooweg. The development group supports Indigenous businesses and communities with financing, as well as through education and special initiatives.
Googoo says he and the organization are excited by the possibilities this new partnership creates.
“There are these ideas out there within the indigenous community that haven’t had a platform… and this will help people actually bring those forward,” he says.
He says that, for many reasons, much of the knowledge that exists in Indigenous communities has traditionally been kept in those communities.
Creating more opportunities for people to access resources and partners like the ones at COVE encourages innovation and fosters new ways to collaborate “that can create new ideas [that look at traditional problems in] very different ways.”
Fostering more of that kind of collaboration, by giving Indigenous communities tools, education, and resources has been Ulnooweg’s mission for decades.
“What’s critical for us is that realization that indigenous knowledge is actually science,” Googoo says.
“We have knowledge within the Indigenous community that’s been basically gone through the whole process of what you would call the scientific method—trial and error—for thousands of years.
“We bring that into this space: our knowledge keepers know which species are those critical species indicators, for example, of what the environment is doing. That’s what we bring. And it’s been passed down generation-to-generation for thousands of years.”
With Samqwane’jk, Indigenous entrepreneurs who may have already benefitted from or been inspired by Ulnooweg’s work now have more access to resources to take their ideas even farther.
Googoo says the plan right now for the program is to accept from three to five businesses into the program. He says that selection will likely happen in the next couple of months.
More information about Samqwane’jk is available here.