Press Release – New Graduates Poised to Train Women to Prepare to Meet Food System Investors
We are excited to be part of two great initiatives!
Connect for Food
This project is about reaching out and connecting with all those in our regional food community as seen in the food wheel below.
The main goal of the project is to not only communicate with this sector, but to connect and to find opportunities and ways to work together to make a greater impact on our food system. Although the project arose from a partnership in Northeast Alberta it is not exclusive to a particular area or region. All are invited to participate.
The initiative started with virtual coffee talks in 2022 and then onto several face to face workshops. Our next event is the Connect For Food Symposium – April 15th in Vermilion.
Project is funded in part by: Prairies Can
Project Lead: Community Futures St. Paul – Smoky Lake
Consultants: ClearThinkGroup
Venture Capital Ready
If it is time to grow your agri-food business but, like many women, BIPOC, and gender diverse entrepreneurs, you worry about the challenges and barriers you could face in finding financing – this program provides you with the insight, know-how, and resources you need.
If your business has a product line that has proven itself in the market and you believe it is time to scale up, you’re likely close to being Venture-Capital Ready.
Venture-Capital Ready: Investment Training for Women Entrepreneurs is a new initiative of the Small Scale Food Processor Association. With our many partners, we have created a Canada-wide program that trains BIPOC, gender diverse, rural, and otherwise marginalized women in the agri-food space to get financing, improve the networks and expertise they need.
With this training, they will be READY to present their scale-up plan to interested investors. We are grateful to the Government of Canada’s Women Entrepreneurship Strategy for the funding support to make this much needed program possible.
Project is funded in part by: Government of Canada
Project Lead: Small Scale Food Processor Association
Consultants: Farm Food Drink
Who is NAFMA?
The Northeast Alberta Food Marketers’ Association is a group of food producers, processors who came together and with the help of Community Futures Offices, have developed a Northeast Food Brand (to identify food/beverage from Northeast Alberta) and who worked with Portage College (St. Paul Campus) in the development of the food processing centre in St. Paul.
NAFMA maintains a database on those that grow, raise, produce, process and service the local food community in Northeast Alberta.
Regional Map
Explore each Town & County in our region and find out more about Agrifood Producers, Processors, Retailers and Distributors.
Regional Brand
Our association has been approved to use the Trade Marked Regional Brand that is owned by Community Futures St Paul – Smoky Lake Region.
Read More
- A brand that identifies the Northeast Region of Alberta and its abundant supply of locally grown, raised and processed food.
- A Campaign to help people make an informed choice when purchasing food for their family.
- A diversification project that encourages small scale food production at the regional level with the hope that they will support a Regional Food Processing Facility.
Explore our Agrifoods Business Investor Toolkit
Navigate all our great resources and information online, or download the PDF, formatted for plain paper so you can create the hard copy right on your own printer. The PDF download features the highlights of our Toolkit including data, statistics and resources. For all available information, please continue with the online version.
