Organizations work to support Aboriginal business

Circle of Trade Show Guide Supplement

Page 5

The continued growth in the number of successful Aboriginal businesses that operate across the country can be credited in part to the efforts of the many organizations that exist-both at the national and regional levels-to support the creation and continuation of Aboriginal business ventures.

Corporate Circle

The Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN) Corporate Circle has been working to increase the number of economic, educational and employment opportunities for First Nations people across Saskatchewan since April 1999.

The goal of the Corporate Circle is to work in partnership with business to improve employment and training opportunities for First Nations people, as well as to help support First Nations business development through contracting, partnerships, joint ventures, or through investment in existing First Nations companies.

Membership in the Corporate Circle is open to businesses operating in Saskatchewan that are willing to work with the FSIN to improve opportunities for First Nations people across the province, whether it be by hiring First Nations employees or by purchasing goods or services from First Nations businesses.

Businesses can also aid the Corporate Circle in its efforts by adapting recruiting and training to provide greater opportunities for First Nations candidates, or by developing programs to encourage First Nations youth to stay in school and further their education.

A number of Saskatchewan's leading corporations are members of the Corporate Circle, including Cameco Corporation, Enbridge Pipeline, Foothills Pipeline, GE Canada, Weyerhaeuser Canada, the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority, SaskEnergy, SaskPower, SaskTel, and the Saskatchewan Construction Association Ltd.

Three of the province's institutes of higher learning, the University of Saskatchewan, University of Regina and Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (SIAST) are also members.

The First Nations members of the Corporate Circle include the First Nations Bank of Canada; Kitsaki Management, the business arm of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band; Mistik Management and Tron Power, both owned by English River First Nation; and the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority, as well as a number of the province's First Nations and tribal councils.

For more information about the FSIN Corporate Circle, call 306-665-1215, or visit the Corporate Circle Web site at www.corporatecircle.ca.

National Aboriginal Business Association

Promoting Self-Reliance Through Enterprise is the motto of the National Aboriginal Business Association (NABA). A non-profit association formed in 1996, NABA is like a national chamber of commerce for Aboriginal businesses. The association works to help organize local Aboriginal business associations across the country, and then works with those associations in their efforts to promote and support local business ventures. NABA also organizes networking opportunities, designed to allow Aboriginal businesses to share their experiences with each other and to promote themselves, both throughout Canada, and to a global marketplace. NABA also works to ensure the views and interests of Aboriginal businesses are heard by government and the business sector at large.

For more information about the National Aboriginal Business Association, or to find contact information for the local association serving your region, visit the NABA Web site at www.nabacanada.com, or call 403-620-4484.

The Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) works to build partnerships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal businesses as a means of creating economic opportunities for Aboriginal people in Canada. The non-profit organization, which receives no government funding, works to create networking opportunities by providing market information to potential partners on both sides of the equation, and by providing business with ways of accessing the available poolof Aboriginal talent.

The CCAB has a number of programs in place designed to help make those necessary links between the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal business worlds, including the Seven Generations program, which involves member organizations in promoting the agenda of the CCAB through sponsorship and leadership, and the Circle for 2015 program, through which the CCAB holds networking events across the country to bring Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal business leaders together.

Other tools the CCAB uses are its online Aboriginal business portal (www.aboriginalbiz.com), its PAR (Progressive Aboriginal Relations) program, which provides business with a framework to develop and measure its Aboriginal relations efforts, and the FAAY (Foundation for the Advancement of Aboriginal Youth) program, which has been providing scholarships and bursaries to Aboriginal youth for the past decade.

For more information about the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business, visit the CCAB Web site at www.ccab-canada.com.

Aboriginal Business Canada

The federal government works to support new and existing Aboriginal businesses through Aboriginal Business Canada (ABC), a branch of Industry Canada.

Through ABC, Aboriginal individuals, businesses, organizations or development corporations can get access to financial assistance, business information, resource materials and assistance accessing additional financing or business support. ABC also works closely with Aboriginal financial and business organizations, as well as with other departments and organizations involved in promoting and supporting Aboriginal business, on initiatives aimed at improving the business skills of Aboriginal business people, and to recognize business successes in the Aboriginal community.

For more information about Aboriginal Business Canada, visit the ABC Web site at http://stategis.ic.gc.ca/SSG/ab00112e.html.

Council for the Advancement of Native Development Officers

Since it was created in 1990, the focu of the Council for the Advancement of Native Development Officers (CANDO) has been providing professional development and networking opportunities for Aboriginal economic development officers (EDOs) across the country. The reasoning is that for communities and organizations to be successful in their economic development initiatives, they need to have economic development personnel in place that are trained, highly skilled and committed.

A volunteer board of EDOs representing each region of Canada governs the non-profit organization. Through its efforts, the organization has built up successful partnerships between Aboriginal EDOs, Aboriginal leaders, and senior public and private sector representatives.

Each year, CANDO also recognizes economic development success stories, handing out Economic Developer of the Year awards at its annual general meeting and conference.

For more information about the Council for the Advancement of Native Development Officers, visit the CANDO Web site at www.edo.ca.

Alberta Aboriginal Business

Service Network

Aboriginal entrepreneurs living in Alberta who are trying to find information about business development can probably find anything and everything they need in one place-the Web site of the Aboriginal Business Service Network (ABSN).

The ABSN is part of The Business Link, an online service providing business information and advice to Alberta's small business community. The Business Link is part of the Canada Business Service Centre network and is a non-profit organization that receives funding from both the provincial and federal governments.

The ABSN site provides information on a number of business topics, from business planning and start up to product development, to running an E-business. You can also access the Aboriginal Albertans in Business series, which helps Aboriginal entrepreneurs determine whether to start their own business, what type of business to consider, what the existing marketplace is like, and how toaccess financing.

The site also includes links to six mini-ASBN sites that have been set up across the province, designed to provide a more regional approach to Aboriginal entrepreneurship.

The Aboriginal Business Service Network can be found online at www.cbsc.org/alberta/absn. Other provincial members of the Canada Business Service Centre network can be linked to the site as well.

First Peoples Business Association

The First Peoples Business Association (FPBA) is a Quebec-based organization that works to support and promote Aboriginal businesses, providing them with business information, networking opportunities, and venues for promoting their products and services, both within Canada and to an international market.

The association also works to help Aboriginal businesses identify potential customers, as well as to help put them together with possible joint-venture partners.

Each year, the FPBA also recognizes achievement within the Aboriginal business sector through the Mishtapew Awards of Excellence gala.

For more information about the First People's Business Association, visit the association Web site at www.aappfpba.org.