Aboriginal Business Magazine Your source for Aboriginal Business News
By Dave Baxter
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Southern Chiefs Organization (SCO) say a newly signed agreement will help young First Nations entrepreneurs in this province to succeed and prosper, by working to break down systemic barriers to success.
“We know First Nation business owners have to overcome systemic obstacles,” SCO Grand Chief Jerry Daniels said in a press release.
“I am confident this new partnership will help to break down those barriers and biases.”
SCO, which represents 34 First Nations and more than 80,500 community members in southern Manitoba, announced this week that their Southern Chiefs’ Economic Development Corporation (SCEDC) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Futurpreneur Canada.
SCO said the agreement will see the organizations “combine efforts to support young, aspiring business owners from Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO) member Nations.”
The new agreement will now see Futurpreneur Canada, a national non-profit organization that provides financing, mentorship, and resources to aspiring business owners ages 18 to 39, share information and resources with youth from SCO’s member communities, including information on upcoming training and outreach events and opportunities.
Futurpreneur will also designate a contact person in Manitoba for SCEDC to refer southern First Nation youth for support to help them launch their businesses.
“Both the leadership at SCEDC and Futurpreneur believe it is time to enter into a partnership and help foster First Nation entrepreneurship,” SCEDC CEO Ian Cramer said in a release.
“SCEDC values partnerships, mentoring and education leading to sustainable First Nation business development.”
SCEDC, as part of the agreement, will help to connect youth committees, boards, and initiatives with Futurpreneur and their programs, and the organizations will also work together to develop specific training and networking events about programming, tools, and resources for SCO members.
“There is no question that many Indigenous young people are interested in owning their own businesses and creating opportunity for themselves and their communities,” Futurpreneur’s vice-president for Ontario, the Prairies and Northern Canada Scott Bowman said in a release.
“One of our core values is driving inclusive Canadian prosperity and we are proud to enter into this agreement to help further that goal across the SCO member Anishinaabe and Dakota Nations.”
According to SCO, Indigenous businesses in this province currently contribute more than $9.3 billion annually to the Manitoba economy.
-Dave Baxter is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the Winnipeg Sun. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
