b'COMPANY PROFILECULTIVATINGA novel new bu i siness incubator setsts LEADERS sights on tran i sforming young Indigenous tradespeoplento business ownersBy Gavin JohnI ts the right thing to do, Rod Stagg says with a warm smile on his face. Stagg, the CEO of Cougar Technical Services, leans back in his chair at his Calgary office, content with his succinct answer. He has no doubt been asked many times about the motivation behind his revolutionary new business, Indigenous Incubator Inc. The legacy project was launched last year and aims to inspire, mentor and cultivate the next generation of young indigenous business owners in the trades. Unlike most business incubators that target early-stage companies, Indigenous Incubator helps companies at a later stage of their operation. It targets businesses without a succession plan, and then, through a novel set-up, helps them transition to an exit strategy. Stagg matches the companys original owner with a young Indigenous tradesperson who they then mentor and train with the goal of eventually having them take over the business.By acquiring the business and retaining the owner to mentor their potential future successor, Indigenous Incubator hopes to produce Indigenous profes-sionals skilled in both construction trade and business ownership. To do this, they target Indigenous youth in the trades who are between 18 and 45 years of age. The Indigenous Incubator Program is designed for us to purchase baby boomer businesses, take these businesses and install Indigenous youth [who will] be mentored by the baby boomer for the last years of [their] career, explains Stagg, a member of the Mtis Nation of Alberta. With financial support from RBC and the Canadian Development Bank, plus buy-in from post-secondary institutions, private businesses, government and Indigenous communities, Indigenous Incubator is poised for a bright future. The idea for the business has its roots in Staggs own long and successful career. In the 1970s, 34A CCAB PUBLICATION2023'