Entrepreneurial program adapted to meet Aboriginal needs

Federal funding has allowed GoForth Institute to modify its successful online entrepreneurial education program to meet Aborginal needs.

With 38,000 known and registered Aboriginal businesses in Canada, and the Aboriginal population the fastest growing in Canada, GoForth has developed a unique online training that is building a bridge for the Aboriginal business community to join the Canadian business community, said President Leslie Roberts.

With $249,900 from Aboriginal and Northern Affairs Canada, GoForth Institute has been able to modify its successful online entrepreneurial education program, making it relevant to the Aboriginal audience. The curriculum, now being piloted with over 150 Aboriginal agencies and entrepreneurs, will provide entrepreneurs with financial literacy and skills to enhance their ability to start, manage and grow a small business.

Founded in 2009, the highly successful GoForth Institute is the brainchild of Roberts, a former professor of entrepreneurial studies at Mount Royal and the University of Calgary. With over 14 years of teaching experience, Roberts was the first person to receive a PhD in Entrepreneurship in Canada. Her pioneering spirit and belief in the power of education to change lives shines through Robert’s vision which is national in scope. Roberts, whose background is market research, was inspired to create an online training program by her wheelchair-bound niece with cerebral palsy who wanted to start a jewellery business but did not have the physical mobility to attend classes.

Roberts discovered a niche in helping people acquire street level skills needed to start and run a small business. The online video training is tailored for micro-entrepreneurs with fewer than five employees. Participants work at their own pace on video training, comprised of 30 twenty-minute lessons delivered online and accompanied by a 500-page self-guided workbook. Each lesson covers three skills and the training takes 10 hours to complete. Upon completion, participants have acquired 100 skills and have a business plan in place. Topics covered are comprehensive ranging from accounting and marketing to legal issues. The training is applicable to all sectors and covers every industry from construction and retail to artisans. Each year the instructors, specialists in their fields, convene in Calgary to refresh the content.

With the incorporation of Aboriginal-specific content in the areas of taxation law, government compliance, and legal rights under the Indian Act, the program is inclusive, reflecting all Canadian entrepreneurs.
The program is particularly appealing to the burgeoning population of Aboriginal youth.

“For Aboriginal youth, entrepreneurship is the new buffalo,” said Roberts.

The program will be introduced to the Aboriginal community by Aboriginal people and will be free for Aboriginal entrepreneurs in Canada. GoForth is seeking an Aboriginal non-profit organization to become the distributor.

It will be rolled out nationally in partnership with the private sector and ANAC.