From Tide to Table:
Accelerating Indigenous Seafood Ventures.
The Seafood Business Accelerator (SBA) is a proven BC-based program to help local small-scale fishers, farmers, and processors develop more sustainable, profitable seafood businesses.
What is the SBA?
The Seafood Business Accelerator (SBA) blends traditional knowledge modern business practices to fuel innovation, profitability, and sustainability for small-scale seafood entrepreneurs.
For participants, its a pathway to new skills, markets and opportunities with access to industry training, coaching, business tools, and one-on-one mentoring to turn ideas into action.
For funders, the SBA is a strategic investment in resilient seafood businesses, thriving coastal economies, and long-term sustainability.
Program Offerings
Why Support the SBA?
The Seafood Business Accelerator (SBA) is creating a future where Indigenous entrepreneurs lead thriving seafood businesses that sustain both people and the ocean.
By combining traditional stewardship with modern business expertise, SBA equips participants with the training, mentorship, and market access they need to succeed.
​
Funding makes this possible. By supporting SBA, you:
-
Fuel Indigenous Entrepreneurship – Removing barriers to capital, networks, and expertise so Nations can drive their own economic futures.
-
Strengthen Communities – Creating jobs, building skills, and generating lasting prosperity in coastal and Indigenous communities.
-
Advance Sustainability – Blending Indigenous knowledge with innovation to protect marine ecosystems and support long-term sector health.
-
Future-Proof the Seafood Economy – Diversifying the value chain with new leaders, products, and resilient businesses.
We invite funders, partners, and investors to join us in scaling the Seafood Business Accelerator. Your support directly advances reconciliation through economic empowerment while ensuring Canada’s seafood sector thrives for generations to come.
The Seafood Business Accelerator: A Proven Success
First developed in 2023 by the Centre for Seafood Innovation at VIU in partnership with the BC Commercial Fishing Caucus, the SBA is now an Indigenous Economic Pathways program. This means sustained, long-term support for seafood entrepreneurs as part of a large ecosystem of Indigenous & overall economic growth. ​
2025-26 Program Funding & Support Provided by:
