NABL Takes 3rd Place at Virtual Competition
This post was written by Jillian Bjornstad, School of Management MBA student and NABL president for the 2019-20 academic year.
Native Alaskan Business Leaders, a School of Management student organization, works each year to create a business plan designed to benefit a rural community or region. In previous years, the group traveled to a national competition hosted by the American Indigenous Business Leaders.
NABL vice president, Jordan Kashatok, is originally from Newtok, a village that has faced massive erosion issues over the years and has been working on completely relocating the village. The club’s brainstorming sessions this year produced a variety of ideas that could assist areas facing similar erosion issues. NABL developed a business idea that would be based in the Southwest region hub of Bethel called Ena: Southwest Contracting. Ena, which means ‘house’ in Yup’ik, aims to help those affected by the growing issue of erosion in the Southwest region of Alaska. The company’s mission is: “To provide and maintain affordable housing options for Southwest Rural Alaskans affected by climate change, overcrowding, and harsh weather.”
NABL members worked hard on this year’s business plan and were excited to compete in the annual AIBL competition. The day after submitting their plan, they found out that the competition had been canceled due to COVID-19; soon after, UAF announced that the rest of the spring semester would be completed via online/distance learning.
Since there is never a dull moment in 2020, the story does not end there! AIBL partnered with the and to host a virtual business plan competition for 2020. All of the plans originally submitted for the AIBL competition were automatically forwarded on to this . NABL’s business plan won 3rd place and the group received a prize of $1,000. The NABL members were very grateful to receive this recognition for all their hard work throughout the spring semester.
NABL is still figuring out how to remain active during the fall semester. The group hopes to stay in contact with each other and meet virtually, while developing socially-distanced activities for members to participate in during the new academic year.