THUNDER BAY – BUSINESS – “Northern Ontario is rich with business opportunities in mining, energy, transportation infrastructure and the associated supply chains. All projects are on our First Nations traditional lands. It’s time we stepped into these opportunities more meaningfully to benefit our people and become dynamic players in Ontario’s economy,” says Anishnawbe Professional Business Association President Jason Rasevych.
A newly-formed First Nations business association partners with a powerful national business matching forum this June for a unique event whose mission is to engage and empower Indigenous people and communities to become stronger players in northern Ontario’s economy.
Anishnawbe Business Professional Association (ABPA) and Advanced Business Match (ABM) will present the inaugural ABM Indigenous: Ontario North, June 10 – 12 at the Valhalla Inn in Thunder Bay.
ABM Indigenous: Ontario North is a hyper-productive business matching forum that moves beyond traditional networking to provide strategic opportunities for relationship-building and deal-making. The event will first connect potential business partners online, then follow with 20-minute focused in-person meetings on the trade show floor. Participants begin by registering their business interest. ABM’s sophisticated and customized platform allows participants to review applicants based on demonstrated capacity or expressed need and stated business development goals. Successful applicants will enter a curated business environment with pre-qualified leads who seek or have complementing skills, capacity, products and services.
ABPA launched its association this spring as a vehicle for empowering the First Nations community in Northern Ontario to focus their strength and increase their impact as business partners in the region’s resource project-driven economy.
This event is the first initiative spearheaded by the ABPA to connect businesses and communities in the region. The aim is to establish respectful and rewarding business relationships that lead to mutually beneficial business agreements and arrangements. ABM Indigenous: Ontario North will provide a fertile environment for Indigenous and non-Indigenous SMEs to find partners to sharpen competitive edges, improve products and services and capacity to benefit from procurement opportunities, and engage industry to increase participation by Indigenous businesses in the supply chain for existing or planned projects.
Advanced Business Match (ABM) Managing Partner Katrin Harry says: “We are thrilled to partner with ABPA to leverage our common goal of contributing to the socio-economic well-being and quality of life of our First Nations peoples. ABM is unsurpassed as an incubator for economic development. Working with an astute and highly motivated partner like ABPA allows us to maximize the opportunities created on the trade show floor by fully understanding the unique characteristics of business development in Northern Ontario and recruiting the right decision makers for partnerships, investment, and the procurement of goods and services.”
Says Rasevych: “We encourage all communities, especially those at the beginning of their economic and business development journey, to participate in showcasing the economic power of Indigenous people in our region. We call on all non-Indigenous businesses that have, or want to have, a synergistic relationship with Indigenous business and community leadership in our territory to register for this event. The common objective is to create viable equitable opportunities for Indigenous business and communities. Together, we can all succeed.”
To learn more, visit https://advancedbusinessmatch.com/abm-events/abm-indigenous-ontario-north-canada/
