We are incredibly honoured and excited to announce that we have been named the 2019 BC Indigenous Business Awardee for Business of the Year in the 11+ person enterprise category! We would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate and celebrate everyone else who was honoured in 2019, including the Salish Seaside RV Haven, who won the Industry Business Partnership of the Year award!

The IBA program was launched in 2008 to honour and celebrate business excellence and, in its 11th year, boasts close to 200 remarkable businesses within its alumni. A total of 15 Indigenous businesses,

 entrepreneurs, partnership entities and community-owned enterprises will be recognized at this year’s Gala Dinner on October 17, 2019, at the Fairmont in Vancouver. We are also incredibly excited to announce that the entire Animikii team will attend the Gala to celebrate everyone’s amazing achievements!

When we first heard that we were receiving this award, the first emotion that welled in our hearts was Humility, for we know that if it weren’t for our clients and partnerships over the years we definitely wouldn’t have experienced the success we are so lucky to have today.

2019 has been a huge year for us. Our team grew from 8 to 12 full-time team members, not to mention our wide and talented network of contractors and interns. We’ve secured a $1 million investment from Raven Capital Partners to develop Niiwin, a tool to promote Indigenous Data Sovereignty on a global scale. We’ve also worked hard on our Giving Back and Social Impact programs to not only donate time and money back into the community but also use our thought leadership in the Indigenous tech and business space to promote Reconciling and decolonizing ideals. Lately, we’ve been honoured to share our opinions on the importance of Indigenizing and diversifying your supply chain, objectively questioning the use of sacred iconography in design, recognizing what it means to be an Indigenous ally, and the benefits of incorporating traditional teachings into every aspect of a business.

Everyone at Animikii would like to sincerely thank the BC Indigenous Business Award program, the BC Achievement Foundation, and the Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation for granting us this honour. We would also like to thank the New Relationship Trust, BC Hydro, CN, Enbridge, Encana, FortisBC, TD, Vancity, and Western Forest Products, who generously support the BC Indigenous Award program and its partners!

See you all on October 17th!

Miigwetch!