Supporting Indigenous Entrepreneurs at Futurpreneur Canada

At Futurpreneur we believe in building trust to best support Indigenous Young Entrepreneurs. We help Indigenous entrepreneurs aged 18-39 launch or buy their own business. With up to $60,000* in financing, an expert mentor for up to two years, and access to resources, we’re here to help young entrepreneurs bring their business plan to life.

We’re pleased to introduce you to the Indigenous young entrepreneur support team at Futurpreneur:

Sammy Zoerb

Building relationships and trust are key for Sammy when it comes to supporting Indigenous entrepreneurs, as well as creating synergies with other service providers. She believes we can all work together to support Indigenous entrepreneurs in following their goals and passions toward the launch of their dream businesses.

Sammy Zoerb is the Business Development Manager, Indigenous Young Entrepreneurs, with Futurpreneur Canada for the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. Originally from Thunderchild, Saskatchewan, she has lived in Edmonton for the past 20 years.

Sammy holds a diploma in Business Administration and started her career in Indigenous economic development straight after she graduated. She soon discovered her passion was to become a resource for Indigenous economic prosperity and she has focused on supporting Indigenous entrepreneurship for the past four years. Being a part of Futurpreneur’s new Indigenous team with a focused strategy that supports young Indigenous entrepreneurs is all part of her journey. Sammy believes it is critical for Indigenous people to become self-sustainable and she is honoured to be a part of this exciting time where Indigenous entrepreneurs are following their dreams and contributing to the economic growth of this country.

Justin Holness

Justin Holness was born and raised in Winnipeg, MB. His heritage is a blend of Jamaican and Nakota First Nation roots. Growing up, his mother made sure he was connected to his First Nation community. One of his three grandmothers, Laura Big Eagle, helped to re-establish Ocean Man First Nation, Treaty 4 Territory, in 1990.

Based in Ottawa and serving young, Indigenous entrepreneurs across Ontario, Justin believes that entrepreneurship is one way we can build new economic opportunities for Indigenous people, communities and future generations. For Justin, supporting Indigenous entrepreneurship and business is a pathway toward achieving reconciliation. He is pleased to join Futurpreneur where he can help other Indigenous entrepreneurs achieve economic prosperity by supporting them to launch and grow their businesses.

Justin is an award-winning entrepreneur himself, receiving the 2018 CBC Trailblazer Award for TR1BE Music. He also received the Youth Community Service Award from the Committee of Youth Officers Ontario while working at the Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health as an Indigenous Youth Division Coordinator. His goals are to help Indigenous people achieve self-determination through art, music, and entrepreneurship.

Noah Wilson

Noah Wilson self-identifies as a Cree man with French/Ukrainian heritage on his mother’s side of the family. Noah is a proud community member of Peguis First Nation which is the largest Treaty 1(1871) community located in the province of Manitoba. As a result of living in several cities and communities throughout his youth, Noah was able to see a diverse cross-section of Canadian society that highlighted the stark discrepancies in the standard of living between First Nations peoples and the rest of Canada. These experiences fostered his passion to someday become a trusted advisor for the resurgence of self-determining Indigenous Economies, thriving Indigenous Communities, and a hopeful Indigenous Peoples.

Noah recently graduated with distinction from the University of Manitoba in 2019 with a Advanced-Bachelor’s degree in Indigenous Governance and a Minor in Management which only continued to grow his passion for Indigenous business, Indigenous economics, and Indigenous self-governance. During his studies, Noah was awarded the University of Manitoba Indigenous Award of Excellence for Outstanding Achievement for his work as co-president of the Indigenous Students’ Association. The award also recognized his work co-founding the “ReconciliACTION Campaign” which has become a nationally recognized campaign with the Canadian Federation of Students and advocates for the implementation the TRC Call to Action #16 at all post-secondary institutions across Canada. In 2019, he was honoured to be selected as a Rhodes Scholar Finalist as a representative of the University of Manitoba. Noah is a devoted advocate for the implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action in Canada and the establishment of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

As a new member of the Indigenous Young Entrepreneurs team at Futurpreneur, Noah brings with him a professional background in finance working with both personal and business clientele at the Royal Bank of Canada for the past 4 years. Noah hopes to use his educational and professional background to help support the many Indigenous Young Entrepreneurs across Manitoba and Saskatchewan who are just waiting for an opportunity to bring their great business proposals to life for the resurgence of self-determining Indigenous Economies.

Joanne Norris

Under the leadership of Joanne Norris, Director of Indigenous and Northern Communities, Futurpreneur strives to support Indigenous entrepreneurs in the best way possible. Our team seeks to create a sense of belonging for Indigenous entrepreneurs while providing the tools and supports to help them succeed.

If you are looking to start a business, we are here to help.

Visit futurpreneur.ca/indigenous/ to get started!