Mary-Anne Stokes is from Iqaluit, Nunavut and cares about creating healthy, clean living spaces for people in her community. Her goal is to create a professional residential and commercial cleaning service in Iqaluit that would also help create jobs for other young people who are interested in this field.

Geela Kango is passionate about her community of Iqaluit, Nunavut and making it the best possible place for her and her family. Geela is a mother, a student, and is interested in mental health and wellness education, support and resources in her community.

“I had a really good experience, I learned a lot. I met some awesome people, there are good guest speakers. That they (Inspire Nunavut) are willing to help people and other people to get more knowledge in all this stuff. It was my first time learning online and I did not mind learning online.”

Shawna believes being an entrepreneur means taking a risk, believing in yourself, and working towards bringing an idea to life. She grew up with support from her family and believes it’s important for entrepreneurs to be surrounded by supportive people to grow and succeed.

Lory-Ann originally applied to Inspire NWT with the idea of starting her own transportation company where she’ll help members in her community with their transportation needs. She quickly learned that the Inspire NWT program was more than just a pathway to starting her own business. The program sparked her interest in getting involved in the community as the emergency community coordinator.

Malcolm’s vision for the future is to build a life centered on giving back to his community. His entrepreneurial spirit has a mind full of bright potential business ideas. From lumber, to traditional practices, to renewable energy, Malcolm is the type of person to look at the opportunities in everything he learns and always look for ways to connect it to community improvement.

Through the Inspire NWT course, Roxanne has started to look at her business with a different lens. She sees the power of using a business to build community resiliency. She envisions expanding her projects to include indigenous youth programs to support her community.

“Being a leader means to me: setting a good example for those around you and pointing them in a positive direction. Focus on the positive things, not the negative. Being kind and respectful t”

Robin was an eager and keen participant during the Inspire Nunavut program. Robin graduated from the program and is working on a recycling project, delivering recycling bins to schools, hotels and other businesses in the community.

Chelsey St.John has always had a passion for sewing and designing. While participating in the Inspire Nunavut program, she founded Sophia’s Outerwear, an e-commerce store offering handmade winter clothing for all ages. Each garment is designed and sewn with care by Chelsey herself.

Cheryl has over 11 years of experience as a hairdresser, nail technician and makeup artist. After joining Inspire Nunavut, Cheryl decided to take these skills and put them to work!

Kubz Kafe is a food service and catering company located in Pangnirtung, Nunavut. There are no caterers in Pangnirtung, so a food service and catering company is a strategic and profitable venture to start in the community.

Harry Kango was one of the youngest participants enrolled in the Inspire Nunavut program. This didn’t stop him from achieving his goal of starting a business centered around one of his favorite hobbies, fishing!

May was one of Inspire Nunavut’s brightest participants. May partnered with her mother, a renowned seamstress, to create custom sealskin fashion products with a modern edge.