Nunavut Development Corporation

What Nunavut Development Corporation does

Nunavut Development Corporation (NDC) is a territorial Crown corporation of the Government of Nunavut, established in 1992 and headquartered in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut. Its legislated mandate is to make equity investments in and develop Nunavut-based businesses across the fishery, tourism, and cultural industries. NDC operates through eight wholly-owned subsidiaries plus one minority investment (NunaVet), spanning retail (Ivalu stores and the Jessie Oonark Centre), an arts and crafts production and distribution division (including Uqqurmiut Arts and Crafts and Taluq Designs), a sales division, food processing, and fisheries.

The business model combines holding-company equity returns with operating-company revenue across retail, wholesale, and direct-to-consumer channels. Distribution is multi-modal: physical retail across 18 Nunavut communities, a Mississauga showroom, the Ivalu.ca e-commerce platform, gallery and museum wholesale, and B2B mine site retail through a partnership with Agnico Eagle Mines. Revenue mechanics include product markups on Inuit-made arts and crafts, retail margins on consumer goods, food processing sales, and equity returns from portfolio companies such as Tukumaaq Suites (tourism) and NunaVet (veterinary services). Headcount is reported at 11-50 employees, and financials are not publicly disclosed. Customer segments span local Nunavut consumers, southern Canadian wholesale buyers, museum and gallery accounts, and enterprise clients in the mining sector.

Name

Nunavut Development Corporation

Legal name

Nunavut Development Corporation

Website

https://ndcorp.nu.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Territorial Crown corporation of the Government of Nunavut that makes equity investments in and operates businesses across the territory's fishery, tourism, and cultural industries through eight wholly-owned subsidiaries and a minority stake in NunaVet.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Economic Development Investment

NAICS

Aquaculture (1125)

SIC

Prepared Fresh Or Frozen Fish & Seafoods (2092)

akta.pro primary industry

Frozen Ethnic & International Meals (CRADADAE)

Keywords

• Equity investment services
• Inuit arts retail
• Country food processing
• Arctic fisheries operations
• Northern tourism accommodations

Headquarters

HQ city

Rankin Inlet

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Equity Investments: NDC provides equity financing to help lever other forms of investment capital for Nunavut business enterprises, assisting with new business start-ups and business growth or expansion.
2. Art Sales and Marketing: NDC's Sales Division buys art directly from Nunavut artists and business enterprises, promoting, marketing, and shipping art to galleries, museums, gift shops, and corporate clients. The division carries inventory and negotiates credit arrangements with buyers.
3. Retail Sales: Subsidiary retail operations including Ivalu in Rankin Inlet and Jessie Oonark Centre in Baker Lake sell Inuit art, crafts, and cultural products directly to consumers and wholesale buyers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Nunavut Development Corporation is a territorial Crown corporation that makes equity investments in Nunavut economic sectors—primarily fishery, tourism, and cultural industries—to create employment and business growth. It also directly produces and distributes Inuit art, crafts, country food, and tourism accommodations through wholly-owned subsidiaries including Ivalu (retail), Jessie Oonark Centre (arts retail), Kivalliq Arctic Foods (country food), Taluq Designs (mitts/slippers), Uqqurmiut Arts & Crafts (prints), Kiluk (fur/leather clothing), Kitikmeot Foods, Papiruq Fisheries, and Tukumaaq Suites (hotel).

Product overview

Nunavut Development Corporation is a Crown corporation that makes equity investments in Nunavut's economy, with investments spanning the fishery, tourism, and cultural industry sectors. NDC operates eight wholly-owned subsidiaries including Ivalu (retail), Jessie Oonark Centre (arts retail), Taluq Designs (mitts and slippers), Kivalliq Arctic Foods (country food processing), Uqqurmiut Arts & Crafts (printmaking), Kiluk (fur and leather clothing), Kitikmeot Foods, and Papiruq Fisheries. The corporation's Sales Division centralizes marketing and distribution of products from all subsidiaries to galleries, museums, gift shops, and corporate clients across Canada and internationally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ivalu: Retail store in Rankin Inlet offering one of the largest and most diverse assortments of Inuit and northern-themed goods, including Nunavut-made jewellery, sculpture, and sewn goods. Also operates as an online platform at ivalu.ca.
• NDC Sales Division
• Kivalliq Arctic Foods

Products and services

• NDC Equity Financing
• Ivalu Retail Store
• Jessie Oonark Centre
• Kivalliq Arctic Foods
• Taluq Designs
• Uqqurmiut Arts & Crafts Print Collection
• NDC Sales Division
• Tukumaaq Suites

Quantifiable outcome

• 8 additional hotel rooms created in Clyde River through $475,000 equity investment in Tukumaaq Suites
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Agnico Eagle MinescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 December 2018Agnico Eagle Mines initiated partnerships with Ivalu and Jessie Oonark Centre to sell Nunavut crafts at their Meliadine and Meadowbank gold mine sites. AEM buys whole collections of art for executives and accommodates NDC subsidiary visits to sell products to workers. The mining company treats NDC staff well during visits, providing food and support.
• NunaVet Animal HospitalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNDC recently acquired a minority share in the Iqaluit-based veterinary business. NDC's investment allowed NunaVet to train staff to improve service offerings, acquire additional medical equipment, and increase in-house blood and chemical diagnostic capabilities.
• Qikiqtarjuaq FishermenminorOthersQikiqtarjuaq fishermen supply high-quality ice-caught Arctic char to Kivalliq Arctic Foods. In winter 2013, they supplied 29,467 lbs of char for processing and sale in Nunavut markets.
• Pangnirtung FisheriescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPangnirtung Fisheries processes turbot and Arctic char from local fishermen. In one season, fishermen caught 736,000 lbs of turbot, generating approximately $1 million in employment value. The fishery supports 60-70 fishermen over three months.
• Gallery IndigenaminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrints from Uqqurmiut Arts and Crafts are available through Gallery Indigena. Out-of-territory sales are coordinated through southern partner galleries.
• Nunavut Arts and Crafts AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNDC works with the Nunavut Arts and Crafts Association, including participation in their annual summer festival in Iqaluit for promoting and selling Nunavut art.
• Department of Economic Development and TransportationcoreOthersTerritorial government department that supports NDC initiatives, including workshops for Taluq Designs through their Kugluktuk office, and support for Uqqurmiut Arts and Crafts print collection.
• Kitikmeot Inuit AssociationminorOthersProvided support for the eight-week sewing workshop at Taluq Designs in Taloyoak, helping train local seamstresses.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Kativik Regional Government: Kativik Regional Government is the regional government for Nunavik in northern Quebec with mandates similar to NDC in supporting economic development, cultural preservation, and business support for Inuit communities. It oversees regional business development functions parallel to NDC's investment and subsidiary operations.
• Makivik Corporation: Makivik Corporation is the Inuit development corporation for Nunavik (northern Quebec), managing the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement. Like NDC, it invests in Inuit businesses across fisheries, tourism, and cultural sectors and operates subsidiaries in similar industries including the Nunavik Arts Secretariat and Air Inuit, making it a closely comparable mandate-driven Indigenous development corporation.
• Qikiqtaaluk Corporation: Qikiqtaaluk Corporation is NTI's for-profit investment arm operating businesses in the Qikiqtaaluk region of Nunavut. It holds equity and operates subsidiaries in sectors directly overlapping with NDC, including construction, hospitality, and cultural industries—making it a closely comparable regional Inuit-owned operating business group.
• Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI) is the Inuit development corporation for Nunavut established under the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. It shares NDC's mandate of investing in Inuit businesses and supporting economic development across Nunavut, holding equity across multiple sectors including the same priority areas (fisheries, tourism, cultural industries) and operating its own subsidiary businesses.
• Inuvialuit Regional Corporation: Inuvialuit Regional Corporation (IRC) is the Inuit development corporation for the Inuvialuit Settlement Region in the Northwest Territories. It holds and invests Inuvialuit lands and monies through subsidiary operations in tourism, fisheries, and cultural industries, providing a near-direct comparable to NDC's mandate-driven economic development model in a different Inuit homeland.

Broad incumbents

• Yukon Development Corporation: Yukon Development Corporation is the territorial Crown corporation of Yukon focused on economic development through investments in energy, infrastructure, and real estate. It shares NDC's territorial Crown corporation structure and mandate to invest in priority economic sectors, though its focus areas (energy, utilities) differ from NDC's fisheries/tourism/cultural mix.
• NWT Business Development and Investment Corporation: BDIC is the NWT government's business development corporation providing loans and equity investments to NWT businesses. Similar territorial Crown corporation mandate of supporting northern business development through capital deployment, though it operates at smaller scale and emphasizes lending over the operating subsidiary model NDC pursues.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Nunavut Development Corporation