Googoo joins Innovacorp board

Ulnooweg’s COO is a member of the Waycobah First Nation

A member of the Waycobah First Nation in Inverness County has been appointed to the board of directors of Innovacorp, the province’s early stage venture capital organization.

Christopher Googoo is the chief operat- Googoo ing officer for the Ulnooweg Development Group.

Based in Millbrook First Nation, outside Truro, Ulnooweg has provided loans and business services to Indigenous business enterprises and entrepreneurs throughout Atlantic Canada since 1986.

Googoo said working with both Ulnooweg and Innovacorp, opens the door to a more collaborative approach “to nurturing Indigenous entrepreneurial talent.”

“At a time when the demography of Atlantic Canada and Nova Scotia is so challenging, the Indigenous community can be an important source of talent,” Googoo said in a release, Monday.

He said he was excited to begin working as a board member for Innovacorp.

“I believe that supporting new and growing enterprises, including Indigenous entrepreneurs, in the fields of IT, life sciences, clean technology and ocean technology — Innovacorp’s target sectors — will make Nova Scotia more competitive in attracting talent and investment.”

As an advocate for Indigenous entrepreneurs and youth, enabling them to develop skills for careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics, Googoo said he sees this collaboration between Ulnooweg and Innovacorp as an important opportunity for both organizations from several perspectives.

He said working with Innovacorp means the impact of both organizations can be “amplified” at a time when there is a strong national interest in forging a new relationship and reconciliation with Canada’s First Peoples.

Innovacorp board chair Rodney Burgar said he wants to see Innovacorp embrace Indigenous entrepreneurship.

“Chris’s (Googoo) experience and commitment to advancing economic growth within Atlantic Canada will benefit Innovacorp’s internal team, as well as our clients,” Burgar said.

Federal funding was recently announced for a provincewide federal educational initiative, led by Ulnooweg, which will deliver qualitative digital learning, resources and programming to children and youth in every Mi’kmaq community in Nova Scotia.