The Fund Made for Arctic innovators
From the UArctic Thematic Network on Managing Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in the North, the UArctic Entrepreneurship Fund provides seed funds to support individuals with Arctic innovations. This seed grant program was created with private support from Michael Carey, allowing us to host an annual application to help incubator-stage projects take flight.
Meet Our Arctic Entrepreneurs
- Newfoundland, CA
- Canada
- Norway
- Alaska, US
- Denmark
Our Goals
- Accelerate high-potential Arctic products & services
- Increase Arctic engagement with innovators
- Support ideas of Indigenous entrepreneurs
- Bridge academic knowledge systems with award recipients
- Reward creativity and risk-taking
Annual Call for Proposals
The 2025 call for proposals closed October 31.
The next call for proposals will open in the second quarter of 2026.
The call is open to any individual product or service that aims to benefit the Arctic environment or Arctic communities and has a positive, demonstrable impact. For questions or comments, please contact our team at entrepreneurship@uarctic.org.
Eligibility & Application Criteria
The UArctic Entrepreneurship Fund is open to any individual with an incubator-stage product or service that aims to benefit the Arctic environment or Arctic communities and has a positive, demonstrable impact on the Arctic. We especially encourage applications from Arctic Indigenous and/or northern-based entrepreneurs.
All applications are expected to meet the following criteria to qualify for scoring:
- Background overview of the submitter (with a résumé)
- A true new product or service
- A value proposition that clearly addresses how the product or service will directly impact the Arctic environment or Arctic communities
- A business overview/pitchbook, outlining (as applicable):
- company description
- understanding of the problem and market potential
- product or service description
- marketing strategy
- high-level financial projections/use of the funds
- appendix (for any documents or data to support the other sections)
- A grant request amount (or amounts, if varying budgets would impact the ability to execute on the business plan in a meaningful way) and an accompanying 6-12 month budget explaining how and where the grant amount would be spent. Expected grant disbursement amounts are in the range of $2,000 to $5,000 USD, though exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis.
Read more about the application documents Below. Please submit all documents in PDF format to entrepreneurship@uarctic.org.
In addition, all applications are expected to adhere to UArctic’s values.
Each application fulfilling the application criteria above will be evaluated and scored by a review committee based on a 1-10 scale for six attributes:
- Application Presentation: thoroughness of preparation and plan, completeness and professionalism of submitted pitchbook
- Level of Impact: extent to which the application’s proposed product or service positively helps the Arctic environment and/or communities
- Feasibility: the appropriateness of the application to attain some or all of its stated goals with funding – based on the project’s scope, focus, and technical hurdles, as well as the overall desired funding amount compared to the amount available for disbursement
- Environmental Effects: extent to which the application identifies and mitigates negative effects on the environment from its proposed product or service; alignment to carbon-neutrality; overall environmental impact
- Business Model: the overall potential economic value of the application’s proposed product or service
- Competence and Background: the capabilities of the applicant for successfully implementing their plan
In addition, weighted scoring is added to Arctic Indigenous and/or Northern-based entrepreneurs.
Each application fulfilling the criteria will be reviewed by committee members and independently scored. The results of this process will rank each application by the weighted scores of the committee members, and they will be reviewed as a group to finalize decisions, determine funding, and address any concerns.
Apply to the Fund
Before submitting your application, read the eligibility and application criteria carefully. Applications not meeting the criteria will not be taken into consideration.
The application consists of the following documents:
- A free-format document including 1) the background overview of the submitter, with contact information; 2) the proposed product or service and its value proposition; and 3) the grant request and accompanying 6 – 12-month budget. Please see the application criteria for the full details on each.
- Résumé of the applicant
- A pitch deck outlining the company description, the problem and market potential, product/service description, marketing strategy, and financial projections. Click here to download a pitch deck template that you can use. Note that many of the slides may not be required, but it gives a solid example from which to work.
- Appendix (if necessary) for any additional documents or data to support your application.
Please submit all documents in PDF format to entrepreneurship@uarctic.org.
The deadline for applications is October 31, 2025. Applications arriving past the deadline will not be taken into consideration.
Timeline:
June 24, 2025 – Call for applications opens
Oct 31, 2025 – Call for applications closes
November 2025 – Applications reviewed
Dec 20, 2025 – Applicants informed of the results