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AFN's Alaska Marketplace launches its fifth contest

June 2nd 6:38 pm | Alex DeMarban Print this article   Email this article   Create a Shortlink for this article

An archaeological dig that's provided a rare look into pre-contact history in Southwest Alaska. Chic beauty creams squeezed from tundra plants. Hunting and fishing tours on the Kobuk River with locals serving as guides and cabin builders.

These are just a few of the projects fueled by the Alaska Marketplace, an Alaska Federation of Natives project which returns for its fifth contest after going silent last year.

Launched in 2005, the project provides award money to entrepreneurs with the best plans to create jobs and spark economic activity in rural Alaska, where unemployment is often high.

"The winners of our first four Alaska Marketplace competitions have had a genuine impact across Alaska - creating jobs and building village economies," said AFN President Julie Kitka in a written statement to media. "What we really love about this competition is that it helps folks who might not otherwise have access to funding and publicity pursue their dreams."

The project this year, dubbed 'Planting Seeds of Change,' includes a new essay component that "invites Alaska's great writers to share their thoughts on helping rural Alaska thrive," an the press release said.

Contestants from around the state can also compete in the traditional category for business and nonprofit ideas.

Some of the winners in that category have included:

• The Sparck triplets from the Bethel region [http://thearcticsounder.com/article/1113sparcks_take_potent_one_skin_cream_to_market], who recently brought their Arxotica beauty line to market.

• A dig in the Southwest community of Quinhagak [http://www.thetundradrums.com/article/1040southwest_alaska_dig_gives_scientists_rare] led by the local village corporation that's unearthed 700-year old artifacts, including carved figures.

• And click here [http://www.alaskamarketplace.org/74.cfm]to learn about a third winner and their effort to create a guiding business on the Kobuk River in Northwest Alaska.

In 2009, the Marketplace awarded $300,000 in seed money to award winners. Grants that year ranged from about $11,000 to 50,000. The amount available for this year hasn't yet been announced.

Applications and more information can be found online at www.alaskamarketplace.org [http://www.alaskamarketplace.org]or by calling AFN at 907-274-3611.

Here's more from the news release:

The Alaska Marketplace Competition is an AFN initiative launched in 2005 to foster economic development in rural Alaska by soliciting creative ideas from entrepreneurs across the state in an 'innovation competition.' The past four successful competitions have distributed hundreds of thousands of dollars in seed money and have helped spur real economic growth in Alaska's rural communities. Past winners range from archeological digs to village farms and producers of high-end botanical beauty products.

The 2011 Alaska Marketplace Competition allows applicants to submit either an essay or a business/nonprofit proposal under the competition theme Planting Seeds of Change. Following the application deadline of Aug. 1, a diverse panel of assessors will formally evaluate the business/nonprofit proposals and essays. Finalists will be notified in mid-August, and business/nonprofit finalists will be asked to submit implementation plans and presentations for the final event. Fixed essay awards and cash investments will be awarded to the top proposals following the "Marketplace Event" which will take place during the AFN Convention in Anchorage in October 2011.

The Alaska Marketplace is an initiative of the Alaska Federation of Natives and is supported by a growing list of partners including the Denali Commission, BP, Conoco Phillips Alaska, and the Mitsubishi Foundation.

 


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