Indigenous founders of Cheekbone Beauty, Sister’s Sage, Iskwew Air, and PowWow Pitch among the many featured women speaking at the national conference

StrikeUP has partnered with National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association (NACCA) to elevate Indigenous entrepreneurs while also providing a dedicated safe space driven by a trusted community for diverse women to come together. Indigenous entrepreneurs across Turtle Island will be able to view and participate in dedicated programming at this year’s 2022 StrikeUP Canada digital conference. Highlights of the 2022 StrikeUP agenda include:

• A traditional welcome by Elder Claudette Commanda, an Algonquin Anishinabe from Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation.
• Indigenous speakers from across Turtle Island on all panels and workshops 
• A Learning Lab workshop dedicated to “Building An Indigenous Business”

“StrikeUP is committed to ensuring Indigenous entrepreneurs in our country have access to programming tailored for their business needs,” says Wendy Curtis, Executive Director of Northumberland Community Futures Development Corporation and Co-Founder of StrikeUP Canada. “This year’s program is designed to create an inclusive and welcoming space to the growing number of Indigenous women entrepreneurs across our country.”

“We applaud the conference’s organizers for ensuring Indigenous entrepreneurs and their voices are not only at the tables but on the stage as part of the programming as well,” says Shannin Metatawabin, CEO of NACCA. “Indigenous entrepreneurs, especially our matriarchs, know that everybody thrives when we partner and lift each other up and this conference provides a forum for us to do just that.”

Women entrepreneurs across Canada can now register for free to participate in StrikeUP 2022, a free digital conference on March 3, 2022, featuring keynotes, panels, workshops, learning labs, chatrooms, networking, and support resources as the kick-off and signature event to launch International Women’s Month. 

StrikeUP 2022 is supported by the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) through the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES). The conference is available with French captions and simultaneous sign interpretation.

Visit www.strikeup.ca for full conference details and free registration.

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About StrikeUP

StrikeUP is Canada’s flagship digital conference uniting women and non-binary entrepreneurs and the women entrepreneurship ecosystem with a united vision of equity and inclusive economic growth through entrepreneurship. Founded by Northumberland CFDC and presented in partnership with The Scotiabank Women Initiative ® and Export Development Canada, StrikeUP 2022 showcases the diversity and ambition of Canada’s women entrepreneurs through an accessible program focused on growth, funding, networking, digital adoption, and global opportunities. Find out more about StrikeUP’s mission, vision, and community at strikeup.ca.

About NACCA

The National Aboriginal Capital Corporations (NACCA) is a network of 59 Aboriginal Financial Institutions (AFI) across Canada that is dedicated to stimulating economic growth for all Indigenous people in Canada.

They launched an Indigenous Women’s Entrepreneurship (IWE) Program to increase the number of Indigenous women engaging in entrepreneurship and business development in Canada. The program involves building the capacity of the AFI network and developing tools, resources and supports for Indigenous women to undertake entrepreneurship to build or grow a business.