Teresa Ward, the owner of Grandma Treesaw’s Yukon Bannock and recent graduate of Yukonstruct Startup Bootcamp, has been invited by the Trade Commissioner Service’s British Columbia-Yukon office and Seattle office to participate in a pilot project.

Ward is the only participant from the Yukon, along with five other Indigenous-owned companies from British Columbia.

This is a pilot project with room for only six Indigenous-owned small companies that are in food, beverages or consumer goods, with enough ability to produce and motivation to actively get prepared for the U.S. North West market.

The pilot program will support the participants with a range of export services to establish goals and objectives for Washington State market entry, organize meetings with retailers, develop appropriate marketing material and set up an e-commerce avenue for Canadian companies to sustain follow-up sales in Washington State and Oregon.

Ward, of the Crow Clan, was born and raised with Tlingit traditions. She produces and distributes bannock mix throughout many Yukon retailers.

She graduated from the Yukonstruct Startup Bootcamp last spring and has continued to be supported by the Yukonstruct team since then.

The Yukonstruct Startup Bootcamp is an intensive three-month program for early-stage entrepreneurs to develop and validate their business idea.

The next cohort will start in September, and Yukon startups and entrepreneurs have until Aug. 21 to apply.

The program is funded by the territoral Department of Economic Development and the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency.