The 2011 Alaska Marketplace winners have been announced! Click here to see the full list of winners.

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Remote rural Alaska has struggled for decades with challenging economic barriers. A host of different initiatives have attempted to help rural Alaskans overcome these barriers so that they are not forced to abandon their villages and migrate into Alaska’s urban areas.

The Alaska Marketplace is an innovative "ideas competition" that awards seed money and provides technical support to some of Rural Alaska's most promising entrepreneurs, helping to fill the rural economic gap by funding new wage jobs that are critical to the survival of families living in remote rural Alaska.

Based on feedback AFN has received from the 63 previous winners of the Alaska Marketplace, it appears that 70% of them are still in business. 25% of the winners did not respond or provide an update, and only 5% (4 total) indicated that they were no longer pursuing the business/idea they had entered into the competition.

Above and beyond the specific funding awarded to winners by the Alaska Marketplace, winners have reported sizable amount of additional money they have been able to leverage for their projects, totaling millions of dollars. A number of winners also touted the value of the Alaska Marketplace as an avenue that enabled them to share information and expertise with others. For example, Raven Frog Fibers traveled from Sitka to Hoonah and taught 14 locals to spin yarn. In return, those newly trained spinners can now produce supply that will generate revenue for them through the sale of their product to Raven Frog. This is a perfect example of learning an art while learning a new skill and providing income to individuals in a rural community.

Since 2006, our Alaska Marketplace winners have been hand-selected for their innovative off-grid business ideas to benefit rural communities in Alaska. Each of their ideas demonstrates innovation, sustainability and profitability, revitalizing job creation, and exemplifies the strong cultural heritage of Native cultures in Alaska. With every successful Alaska Marketplace competition, we at AFN realize our goal of truly Investing in Alaska’s Best Ideas.

The Alaska Marketplace is a totally different kind of innitiative -- one focused on providing opportunities to individuals who have a good idea and the genuine drive to make that idea a reality. We do not supply grants to non-profits or programs, we strive to support individual Alaskans, who in turn provide opportunities for economic growth and employment to other members of their rural communities.

Find out more at www.alaskamarketplace.org.

Or learn more about this unique AFN competition with our Alaska Marketplace Primer.