Indigenous entrepreneurship: enriching communities
by Rebecca Wagner, Director of External Relations
Connie Roy brings joy to lives. An Ojibway woman from M’Chigeeng Ontario, and hairstylist of 17 years, she makes people feel good about themselves, giving them confidence while keeping them safe in the comforts of their own home.
In 2018, Connie founded the first mobile hair salon in Waterloo Region, Comfort Cutz, a convenient hair service that serves primarily individuals with mobility barriers.
Connie sees her clients at their most vulnerable, and witnesses first-hand the impact that her services have on their self-esteem and mental health. “My clients are so happy,” she shares. “For some, they get communication, they get a visitor. I treat them like they are my own friends and family, and they trust me.”
When an Indigenous entrepreneur thrives, the impact on their communities is tangible, lasting, with untold ripple effects, and touches countless lives.
Connie is one of three Indigenous entrepreneurs who earned $4,000 in a recent pitch competition out of United College. With the support of entrepreneurship programming at United College, Connie helps keep her clients going, and in the process, lifts everyone around her up.
Laying the Groundwork
Aspiring entrepreneurs have long benefited from the innovation ecosystem at the University of Waterloo, an environment where entrepreneurship and innovation excel amidst a unique blend of co-op, work-integrated learning opportunities, and customized wrap-around supports.
This traditional innovation ecosystem, however, wasn’t reaching, and meeting the needs of, aspiring Indigenous entrepreneurs.
“The Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island have always been great entrepreneurs,” explains Rick Myers, principal of United College. “Colonialism repressed the entrepreneurial activities of Indigenous peoples, but not their entrepreneurial spirit. Indigenous individuals and communities are making enormous strides in a host of commercial areas, including tourism, resources, and energy.”
To accelerate this progress, Indigenous peoples need access to a business education that reflects their specific commercial interests and their culturally unique way of engaging in entrepreneurship and economic development. And they need an opportunity to learn directly from the experiences of Indigenous entrepreneurs, with Indigenous knowledge, values, and culture, as its foundation.
Flint Hub and INDENT: Supporting the Entrepreneurship Journey
In 2023, United College launched an Indigenous entrepreneurship incubator, Flint Hub, and a Diploma in Indigenous Entrepreneurship (INDENT). Drawing inspiration from GreenHouse, Flint Hub provides the infrastructure to support Indigenous students in furthering their entrepreneurial aspirations. The incubator offers a vibrant community of support, rooted in Indigenous knowledge and values of kinship, abundance, and reciprocity.
Since its inception, Flint Hub has awarded approximately $20,000 in funding and supported 3 ventures, with many more opportunities on the horizon.
Supported by Flint Hub, the Diploma in Indigenous Entrepreneurship extends the resources and supports provided by the incubator into an academic offering, a six-course diploma program that enables students to graduate with a Diploma in Indigenous Entrepreneurship from the University of Waterloo.
“Indigenous entrepreneurship programming goes beyond innovation to the very heart of economic equity and justice,” explains John Abraham, academic dean of United College. “At United College, we see our role as supporting the next generation of Indigenous entrepreneurs as they write this exciting new chapter in a long history of commercial and entrepreneurial activities.”
Jacob Crane, program manager of Fint Hub, elaborates. “The goal of the Indigenous entrepreneurship programming is to shed light and guide students towards fully utilizing the tools they already have. Our role is to support them on this journey.”
Flint Hub and the Diploma in Indigenous Entrepreneurship offer a new pathway for Indigenous innovators to realize their entrepreneurial ambitions and will help shape the innovation landscape at the University of Waterloo and beyond.
Empowering Indigenous Entrepreneurs with Communities of Support
Students are surrounded by resources that help them grow their venture from the ground up. Through mentorship, business planning and marketing support, funding through pitch competitions, and collaborations with fellow entrepreneurs, a foundation is built that helps participants have maximum economic and social impact in their communities and around the world.
“Just knowing you have supportive people who are going through the same thing as you are, means everything,” Connie shares.
Connie found great meaning and value in the sense of community, comfort, and belonging that defined her experience in the Flint Hub Indigenous entrepreneurship incubator. As an independent business owner, Connie shares that the level of support offered by Flint Hub was even more meaningful. “I found comfort in talking about the business stuff without being judged by what I know. It’s a learning curve opening a business, and the guidance of Flint Hub helps.”
For Connie, Flint Hub was a steppingstone. A network of support and resources suddenly became available that she did not previously have access to, opening an exciting new world of possibility. Instructors and fellow program participants brought skills to the table that classmates could tap into, such as web design expertise, corporate tax accountant referrals, and advice on searching for commercial retail spaces.
“Flint Hub helped me envision a business plan, it gave me a clearer sense of direction, held me accountable, and pushed me to follow my ambitions.”
Lifting up Communities
When an Indigenous entrepreneur thrives, the impact on their communities is tangible, lasting, and touches countless lives.
Jacob elaborates. “Indigenous entrepreneurship has a ripple effect within communities. We help one person start a business, and they tell a friend, who tells a family member, who tells a neighbour. Our programming expands ecosystems, networks, and horizons.”
With dreams of opening her own physical hair salon and becoming the first registered mobile salon in Waterloo Region well underway, Connie is well positioned to raise up fellow Indigenous entrepreneurs and offer a platform where they can similarly thrive. Connie’s new salon will be Indigenous designed, and she envisions it serving as a hub to sell artwork and various other products made by talented local Indigenous artists and entrepreneurs.
People walk away with the tools and skills needed to start or grow their business, enabling them to support their communities in a different way. That really is the goal, after all; to support Indigenous students in making positive changes within their communities.
What’s Next?
Looking ahead, Flint Hub and INDENT will continue to create a pathway for Indigenous entrepreneurs to have a meaningful impact.
In the long-term, Jacob envisions Flint Hub becoming the number one incubator for Indigenous entrepreneurship in Canada. “I really do believe that our cohorts are going to continue to grow and that we’re going to see alumni go after some large-scale funding opportunities.”
The scope of this programming will broaden nationally as partnerships are deepened with post-secondary institutions across Canada in communities with traditionally high Indigenous populations.
In the short-term, Connie is pursuing her own salon space using the money she was awarded at two Flint Hub pitch competitions, lifting fellow entrepreneurs along with her. She also dreams of launching her own hair product line.
Speaking to the impact of her work, Connie shares; “it is such a rewarding job, knowing you are making people feel good about themselves. I always say to myself; ‘I’m going to make her look beautiful and feel great.’ If you can increase someone’s confidence, that is everything.”
The impact will continue to extend well beyond the program and the entrepreneur.
Jacob reflects that the value of Flint Hub and the Diploma in Indigenous Entrepreneurship doesn't begin and end with the program. “Indigenous solutions and knowledge provided Indigenous peoples with the pathway to thrive long before first contact. We have to remember that we thrived here long ago, and we will continue to thrive here.”
A revised version of this article was originally published in the University of Waterloo’s “Waterloo News” on May 30th, 2024 (here).