, an Indigenous not-for-profit organization, started an incubator in 2017, and has offered an accelerator since 2015.
Chief Clarence Louie of the Osoyoos Indian Band is seen at an event on their traditional lands near the Okanagan River. He says seeing so many initiatives aimed at developing First Nations entrepreneurs across Canada is a positive trend.Chief Louie has a deep understanding of entrepreneurship, having led his band into multiple business ventures over nearly 40 years. The Osoyoos Indian Band now has 13 businesses it says have generated $120 million in revenue in the last five years.
He says most people don't realize Indigenous people "were the first entrepreneurs of this land. We were the first traders."Tenasco says programs like Soar can fill a need when it comes to First Nations businesses taking a step into the big time. She says that until more Indigenous faces are involved in all aspects of entrepreneurship and are part of mainstream business, "we haven't reached our goal."James Dunne researches, produces and writes stories for the CBC News business unit. Based in Toronto, he's covered business for about 15 years starting with local news, before moving on to the show Venture and co-creating the series Fortune Hunters.