High North Young Entrepreneur Award 2025

The High North Young Entrepreneur contest is an international pitch competition of Arctic-related business ideas of young entrepreneurs and start-ups. The goal of the contest is to promote the potential and opportunities of the High North for young people and to encourage them to develop their business ideas for the sustainable North.

View award brochure here

You can  apply if:

• You have an individual start-up or you are a part of a company

• Even just with a good start-up idea as individual (registered company is not required)

• You or your company can be located in any country and sphere and your idea is focused and related to the Arctic

  • All projects from Northern area are eligible

  • Projects from areas outside the Arctic need to show relevance to the Arctic

• The company is not older than five years of the start-up date

• The applicant can be the idea generator or the one who will execute the idea in practice or any other person, related to the idea

• The applicant’s age is up to 40 years old

We especially encourage projects from Bioeconomy, clean energy, health and welfare, ocean, smart society, creative industries, tourism, and the green shift areas.

Key Evaluation Criteria

• Relevance to the North

• Quality of the project application and business plan elements

• The inovativeness / originality of the idea

Try to tell us why your idea is unique, important, and doable.

How to Apply?

• You can apply via this application form: Click here.

• Please, follow the prescribed limitation in characters, given in the application form.

• You are allowed to send one attachment max 30 MB (no more than 3 pages).

• The deadline for applications is February 5, 2024.

The Global Arctic Leadership Initiative

The Global Arctic Leadership Initiative (GALI) fund is now open for applications! Global Affairs Canada’s GALI funding program aims to strengthen Canada’s global leadership in the Arctic. Supported through Global Affairs, funding is delivered through Memorial University with two funding opportunities (listed below).

GALI funding gives researchers the opportunity to fund projects that focus on enhancing Canada's leadership in the Arctic and fostering collaborations in the Circumpolar North.

The two funding opportunities include the Indigenous and Northern Collaborative Research and Education Engagement Fund and the Indigenous and Northern Relationship Development Fund.

Northern Collaborative Research and Education Engagement Fund:

The purpose of this fund is to support researchers with established relationships and partnerships in the Arctic who are interested in continuing their research and education programs in the region in keeping with the UArctic values, Memorial University’s Policy on Research Impacting Indigenous Groups, and supporting priorities within Canada’s Arctic and Northern Policy Framework.

This fund is a maximum total of $40,000 over a 1-year duration.

Northern Relationship Development Fund:

The purpose of this fund is to help researchers at all UArctic member institutions, those in the North and those in the South, establish new relationships or strengthen the existing ones in order to develop collaborative, co-created research projects based on mutual respect and acknowledgment of the deep understanding and knowledge Indigenous and Northern people bring to such projects while ensuring that the academic research and engagement projects meet the needs of the people and the regions where such research takes place.

This fund is a maximum total of $15,000 over a 1-year duration.

Who can apply for these funds:

UArctic and Memorial University encourage engagement between Northern Canadian UArctic member institutions, other Canadian members, and other UArctic member institutions for these initiatives. The lead applicant must come from a Canadian Arctic/Northern UArctic member institution. A complete and updated list of member institutions can be found on the UArctic website.

Due Date for applications:

February 15, 2025

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to Lisa Goulet, Membership Engagement Coordinator for Canadian UArctic members.

For full application criteria, procedures, timelines, eligible funding costs, and a link to the application portal, please see the following website.

We are also pleased to present the attached infographic as an overview of the distribution and focus of the funding. The visual report of UArctic funding demonstrates the impact of strategic investment on both research and community engagement.