The Indigenous Fashion Support (IFS) Program is Now Accepting Applications!
The Indigenous Fashion Support (IFS) Program is a virtual incubation program that supports Indigenous entrepreneurs to experience the journey of building or scaling a business in the fashion industry. With a focus on fashion, product and technology, the program enables participants to sharpen their entrepreneurial skills while developing real-life solutions.
The IFS program combines the 100 Steps 2 startup (external link) curriculum, along with mentorship from industry experts to take participants from ideation to commercialization, with as little risk as possible.
The IFS program is open to Ryerson students, alumni and community members 18+. The program is open to all self-identifying Indigenous people in Canada.
Interested students/community members can apply with a business idea or with an existing business in the early stages. So whether you are interested in launching a start-up or are already in-market, the Indigenous Fashion Support program can help you reach that next milestone!
If you have any questions with the application, please contact fashionzone@torontomu.ca.
Applications for the IFS Cohort close on February 12, 2021 at 11:59PM.
About The IFS Program
Through the program, you will:
- Work with Indigenous mentors and industry advisors to get support in business development
- Meet like-minded creatives
- Discover and develop ideas
- Validate ideas through research and data-driven decision making
- Develop or refine a minimum viable product (MVP)
- Establish go-to-market strategies
- Gain exposure to industry-standard prototyping and design tools and equipment
- Access workshops and programming on marketing, sales, and pitching, through the IFS, Fashion Zone, Creative Innovation Studio (CIS) and across the Zone Learning community at Ryerson University
Program Timeline
Cohort II recruitment begins on January 15, 2021. The cohort will start on March 1, 2021. At the end of the program, participants will pitch to a panel of experts to request to stay in the program or graduate and receive a certificate of completion. A full program timeline is below:
Application window: January 15 - February 12, 2021
Program start date: March 1, 2021
Program end date: June 17, 2021
Program duration: 16 weeks
Participant Requirements
To participate in the IFS program, applicants should:
- be Canadian Aboriginal (First Nation, Métis, Inuit) or Indigenous from elsewhere residing in Canada, to be verified by the program’s Indigenous mentors.
- have an interest in entrepreneurship or a business idea/innovative solution
- submit a complete and qualifying application form
- be available during the length of this program
- have the ability to work on their project for 10 - 15 hours per week
- participate in mandatory scheduled meetings and virtual workshops
Apply to The IFS Program
Creative, Indigenous-led Ideas and Businesses.