The Indigenous perspective on entrepreneurship
It’s safe to say Alberta’s small and mid-sized enterprise (SME) owners have not had an easy go over the last few years. Two years of recession with a slow climb back into economic recovery, trade uncertainty, labour shortages, technological advancements and public policy—all are common themes that come up when discussing Alberta’s business landscape. But how do these themes look through an Indigenous lens? With 43 First Nations, 140 reserves in three treaty regions and eight Metis settlements, Indigenous Peoples represent one of the fastest growing pools of workers, entrepreneurs and businesses in the province. We explored whether the challenges and opportunities facing Indigenous-owned or -operated SMEs were similar or different from those facing their non-Indigenous counterparts. In order to ensure we were thoughtful in our approach and truly gaining insight into the Indigenous entrepreneurship experience, we partnered with the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) for this issue of Business Beat.
And as always, we asked whether Alberta SMEs believe that the Alberta economy, and their businesses, will be better off, the same or worse six months from now.