By Collin Stockwell

Local entrepreneur recognized by the PM

Apr 27, 2016 | 6:00 AM

A local entrepreneur from the Battlefords has received some recognition from the very top.

Sweetgrass First Nation’s Kendal Netmaker who is the founder and CEO of Neechie Gear Inc. was recognized by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on social media for his work building his clothing business from the ground up as a young entrepreneur.

According to Netmaker it all began with a phone call from the Instagram head office.

“Instagram was researching some young Canadians that Prime Minister Trudeau was going to be featuring on his Instagram, and they came across my story and researched me and chose me as one of six Canadians who would be featured by Prime Minister Trudeau,” explained Netmaker.

Netmaker said he felt even more motivated when he saw the post from the prime minister mentioning Neechie Gear.

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“I’ve been working very hard the last five years with the company and as a ‘solopreneur’ you need those extra pushes to keep moving forward because you don’t have business partners to look for advice, you can only find it in yourself,” he said. “ These kinds of things are huge for self-confidence and to help keeping moving forward in the right direction in business.”

This isn’t the first major recognition Netmaker has received for his work building Neechie Gear. Last year he was named the runner up in Dubai for the Youth Business International Entrepreneur of the year.

Netmaker founded Neechie Gear with the idea of using a percentage of profits from the business to support youth register for local sports. Currently Neechie Gear has retail stores in Saskatoon and the products are sold by approximately 25 retailers across the country.

cstockwell@jpbg.ca