NWT/NUNAVUT
A regional representative with the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) is encouraging young business owners in the NWT and Nunavut to vie for the annual BDC Young Entrepreneur Award.

Holly Norris of Inuvik, pictured with Brad Olynyk, won the NWT regional BDC Young Entrepreneur Award in 2006. No Northern entrepreneur won the award last year due to a lack of eligible entries from the three territories. - NNSL file photo

The top prizes include a $100,000 cash prize and $25,000 worth of BDC consulting services.

"Personally, I'd love to see (a winner) come from the North," said Todd Tougas, Edmonton-based vice president of financing and consulting for BDC. "NWT and Nunavut comes under my jurisdiction, so I'd love to have a good applicant come from the North."

National finalists are selected from each of the provinces and a single finalist represents all three territories. Entrepreneurs aged 18 to 35 as of Dec. 31, 2013, are eligible to enter.

Last year, no Northern finalist was named due to a lack of eligible entries from the territories among the 350 applications submitted nationally.

Lack of eligible entries from Northern entrepreneurs is a common situation throughout the past decade that Tougas said he does not wish to see repeated again this year.

"It's a great opportunity for Northern entrepreneurs so I would highly encourage them to apply," he added. "The winner can come from just about anywhere. It doesn't have to be a big company."

Past Northern regional winners have included Tara Tootoo Fotherinham of Rankin Inlet's Sugar Rush Cafe, Krista Uttak of Igloolik Isuma Productions in Iglulik, and Holly Norris of Delta Sun Services in Inuvik.

If eligible territorial entries are received by the April 3 deadline, a panel of five judges, including a senior BDC representative and members of the Northern business community, will select a national finalist on May 2 whose small business has reached a turning point in its growth, Tougas said.

Since 2011, national winners have been determined by a public vote combined with the score attributed to each regional finalist by the national judging committee. Each entrepreneur's application is required to include a one to two-minute video that will be posted online.

A Northern finalist is scheduled to be named May 29, after which residents of the territories will be able to vote in the national competition through the BDC website until June 12.

First and second place winners will be announced June 18. Entry deadline is 10 a.m., April 3.