b'SUPPORT & EDUCATIONThe company has contributed resources to CCABs own Tools & Financing for Aboriginal Business (TFAB) program.CASE STUDY: CHEEKBONE BEAUTYWorking with TFAB, it provided schol-arships for entrepreneurs to attendAna Tomas, Google Canadas marketing lead for small medium business Jelly Academy. The Academy offersand Grow with Google marketing, recounts how Indigenous entrepreneur aseven-week,all-onlinedigitalJenn Harper, CEO and founder of Cheekbone Beauty, leveraged the Google marketing bootcamp for employees andTrends search engine when starting her business. business owners.Specifically, Harper wanted to know which types of beauty products were top online sellers. The answer to her trends search: lipstick. So Harper established Graduates of the program then have thelipstick as one of the sustainable, cruelty-free brands signature products. opportunity to complete micro-creden-tials offered by industry leaders likeThe results were impressive: between 2018 and 2020, Cheekbone Beautys Hootsuite, Facebook/Meta and Google.online lipstick sales grew 780 per cent. Its the small businesses we help, The micro-credentials can be completedwhen you see that uptick in sales, Tomas says. Thats what its all about for us.in a couple of months and provide an opportunity for cash- and time-strapped SME owners and employees to acquire in-demand digital business skills. Do(CDAP), a $4-billion federal initia- [Companies] get started by applying we really need a four-year degree?tive set up in 2022 to support smallonline. Once approved, youll select a Kovacs says. You spend all this money,and mid-sized enterprises lookingdedicated expert (there are hundreds take all this time and you go into debt.to embrace technology and run byacross the country including BDC) who We realized that with micro-credentialsInnovation, Science and Economicwill work with you to either advise you people can up-skill or re-skill part-timeDevelopment Canada. CDAP offerson an e-commerce strategy or, if you do and fully online and get a job right away.Grow Your Business Online grants ofBoost Your Business, create a custom up to $2,400 to build e-commercedigital plan for your business that Jelly Academy offers students access tocapacity and Boost Your Businessincludes timelines, required resources, 13 business micro-credentials covering aTechnology grants up to $15,000technology platforms to consider and range of online business skills, includingto hire an expert advisor to createguidance on how to implement it, social media marketing, Google Adsa digital adoption plan tailored tosays Laura Didyk, BDCs vice president, Search and Google Analytics training,the business, as well as interest-freeclient diversity.content marketing and search engineloans of up to $100,000 through optimization(SEO)fundamentalsthe Business Development Bank ofBDC is a bank for Canadian entrepre-and more. Canada (BDC) to implement the plan,neurs, and although its primary focus is Kovacs is particularly proud of the workif needed. business financing, it also offers advice that Jelly Digital Marketing & PR has done in developing culturally inclusive workshops for Shopifys Build Native initiativea program designed to help Indigenous-owned businesses thrive on the platformand of its collaborative efforts with Mtis orga-nizations in Western Canada to build online entrepreneurship. Exceptional people,Its been incredible, Kovacs says. Mtis Nation British Columbia, Mtis Nation Alberta and SMEDCO (Saskatchewancreating bioproductsMtisEconomicDevelopment Corporation) have all done an amazingfor a more sustainable worldjob supporting their entrepreneurs. Through those three groups weve been helping dozens of Mtis entrepreneurs to up-skill and re-skill so that they can build a stronger presence online. info.mpc@mercerint.com 780-624-7000BDC www.mercerint.comJelly is also an Indigenous advisor to the Canada Digital Adoption Program Aboriginal BUSINESS REPORT 23'