Path to Prosperity Awards $40,000 to Launch and Expand Two Southeast Businesses
Photo Credit: FabrikaPhoto | Envato
The Path to Prosperity business plan competition for 2024 awarded prizes to two winners from Southeast. Sitkana and Ravens Nest Regalia each get $20,000 to help grow their businesses.
Spruce Root, a community development financial institution that organizes the competition, provides local entrepreneurs with access to business development and financial resources in the form of loan capital, business coaching, workshops and competitions. Independent judges selected two winners from a cohort of twelve participants who attended Path to Prosperity’s Business Competition Intensive.
Energy and Craft
Lance McMullan of Juneau owns Sitkana, a manufacturing company producing hydrokinetic energy devices that act like underwater wind turbines to create electricity in flowing water. These devices have the potential to help Southeast Alaska transition away from nonrenewable energy toward sustainable sources.
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Dzijúksuk Debra O’Gara of Petersburg owns Raven’s Nest Regalia and Art, creating Northwest Coast and Tlingit art that can be worn as regalia or displayed in homes. Dzijúksuk specializes in Ravenstail, Chilkat, and cedar bark weavings and regalia, dancing button robes, and vests. The shop is available for small classes in weaving, sewing, and beading as well.
“These two winners demonstrate the exciting business innovations happening in Southeast Alaska,” Spruce Root Executive Director Alana Peterson says. “One is envisioning how to apply the traditional practice of weaving to generate revenue for today’s economy, and the other through the creation of renewable energy in our smaller communities.”
Over three full days of workshops, the twelve participants learned about triple-bottom-line principles (profit, people, and planet), worked with mentors, and received one-on-one consulting to develop business models and plans. Participants spent the next two months working with Spruce Root business coaches to complete business plans and pitch videos for final submission. Judges selected winners based on feasibility, social impact, and environmental sustainability.
“Every year, we are astounded by the brilliant and compassionate finalists that join us at our training in Juneau,” says Competition Administrator Izzy Haywood. “These two winners care deeply about building healthier, stronger, and more sustainable communities, making them truly deserving of these awards”
More than 458 businesses and start-ups in twenty-three Southeast communities applied to the Path to Prosperity Competition over the last twelve years. The program trained 168 entrepreneurs and awarded 26 winners a total of $760,000 to build their local businesses. Previous winners include Skyaana Coffee Co. in Klawock, Barnacle Foods in Juneau, Foundroot in Haines, Coastal Heating and Repair in Yakutat, and Icy Straits Lumber in Hoonah.
To support Path to Prosperity, Spruce Root partners with Disney Cruise Line, the Edgerton Foundation, Sealaska regional corporation, the US Department of Agriculture, Opportunity Finance Network, Sustainable Southeast Partnership, Elgee Rehfeld, Kensington Mine, the Southeast Conference, gener8tor, The Jorgenson House, and Alaska Litho.
Winners received their prizes at the 2025 Southeast Conference Mid-Session Summit in Juneau on Tuesday.
Applications for the 2025 Path to Prosperity Business Competition, open to any business based in Southeast, will open in the spring.
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