Early Stages of Indigenous Women’s Entrepreneurship

This report is a collaboration between the Canadian Council for Indigenous Business (CCIB) and the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH) through the Diversity Institute (DI) to deliver research that aims to understand the early stages of Indigenous women’s entrepreneurship in Ontario. This report is a followup study to previous collaborations between CCIB and WEKH called the Indigenous Women Entrepreneurs report.

The study explores themes like motivations, support services accessed, government services, financing and early-stage challenges. It aims to identify the unique experiences of Indigenous women entrepreneurs and critical areas of support that need further attention in the public and private sectors.

In partnership with DI, CCIB conducted a literature review to provide insight into the entrepreneurial landscape for Indigenous women-owned businesses in Canada and an environmental scan of available supports for Indigenous women entrepreneurs.

In-depth interviews were also conducted with 16 Indigenous women entrepreneurs from different Indigenous communities who have passed the initial start-up phase and can reflect on their experiences as business owners. The literature review and environmental scan provide the necessary background for the report. The in-depth interviews allow us to explore how Indigenous women transform ideas into businesses, as well as the obstacles and opportunities they encounter along the way.

Our goal in the interviews was to explore the lived experiences of Indigenous women entrepreneurs including their motivations, challenges, processes and resources used during the early stages of their business.

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