b'COMPANY PROFILEthe Indigenous Incubator and continue tosupported along the way by RBC andtaps into the inherent entrepreneurial be supported by its services, or they canthe Business Development Bank ofspirit of Indigenous people to open the buy out its 51-per-cent ownership stakeCanada (BDC), which have both part- door to financial independence.and contract out its services if they choose.nered on the project and provided finan-In other words, they have the freedom tocial support. They recognize the needHenry points out that according to become their own independent company,for an initiative that builds the businessCanadian Council for Aboriginal Business, with full agency over the direction of theirpotential of Indigenous youth, especiallyIndigenous populations are five times business. We want to give everybody thein thetrades.more likely to be entrepreneurs. He chance to own their own business, Staggsees the Indigenous Incubator playing says. Were just a diving board for themIn so many cases, there are Indigenousa supporting role in this positive trajectory. to become economically successful. populations one generation away fromThis economic prosperity is important for wealth, explains Darren Henry, vicemoving forward in a post-reconciliation OUTSIDE SUPPORTpresident of the Royal Bank of CanadaCanada, something that is particularly While Indigenous Incubator is the brain- Business Markets for Western Canadameaningful for Henry.child of Stagg, the idea has been stronglyand the Territories. Indigenous Incubator Three years ago, I participated in the [Kairos Indigenous Rights] blanket exer-cise, and it was an awakening for me personally, he says, noting that having non-Indigenousalliessupporting Indigenous Incubator is in itself an act of reconciliation. Its all about truth and understanding [that] we can do better. I believe I have a platform that allows me to push some boundaries, and this is one of the ways we can do better [and show-case] our support. In addition to partners like RBC, Stagg has also built relationships with schools and universities to ensure there is a strong pipeline for ambitious youth to make the transition to the work-force. He has met with representa-tives from all three of Calgarys major post-secondaryinstitutionsthe University of Calgary, Mount Royal University and the Southern Alberta Institute of Technologyto discuss ways of strengthening this messaging. If they identify youth that might be a good fit, they will [tell them about] this program near the end of their [studies], Stagg explains. Moving forward, Stagg sees a bright future for those who will participate in the Incubator program, and for all Indigenous entrepreneurs. In his view, hard work, commitment and a supportive community is all that is needed to bring economic prosperity to Indigenous youth in his home province of Alberta, and eventually nationwide. Indigenous people dont need help; they need opportunities, he says.Indigenous Incubator represents just one of those opportunities. Photos courtesy of Gavin John.36A CCAB PUBLICATION2023'