b'WOMEN IN TECHWhile the idea was solid, the financing wasnt.Forthefirstfouryears,ISKY KEEPERS could not build technology because no one would give me any money to operate the company, Racette says.FLY HIGHNevertheless, she persevered, and in 2020, just as COVID-19 was sending theFIRST COHORT OF world online, she closed an impressiveINDIGENOUS WOMEN seed fund of $1.25 million. I was the first Indigenous woman in Canada toGRADUATE FROM DRONE close a Series A funding, Racette says. TRAINING PROGRAMRacette has now raised more than $10Drone technology is finding a place million, and were much higher thanin every sector, from real estate to that in revenue, she says. All of themining, and now a new program is other people like me whove been toldtraining Indigenous women to operate no can now work on my platform.unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).To date, 92 per cent of the participating assistants using Virtual Gurus identifyIn March 2023, the Construction as female, and 40 per cent of themFoundation of B.C. celebrated the are stay-at-home moms. They gravitategraduation of the first cohort to to Virtual Gurus after hearing aboutcomplete its Sky Keepers program. Racette and the company online, andThe training program was specifically are ready to provide back-office admin- designed to train Indigenous women in istrative support for all industries, fromdrone operation and related subjects women were generally comfortablebookkeeping and marketing to reallike computer skills, financial literacy usingtechnology,theyregularlyestate and medicine. and cultural connections. Over the face financial barriers and gaps in10-week session, participants also educational and professional quali- LastOctober,theUniversityof fications. Family obligations presentVictorias Gustavson School of Businessqualify for several safety certifications, further obstacles. named Racette their Distinguishedincluding the Workplace Hazardous Entrepreneur of the Year. She is theMaterials Information SystemFor Racette, however, nothing wasfirst Indigenous recipient of this honour(WHMIS) certification.going to get in her way. I actuallywhich is now in its 20th year. That was started Virtual Gurus to create a jobdefinitely a highlight of my career soNine women from Blueberry River First for myself, she says simply. far, Racette says. My parents came;Nations in B.C. made up the inaugural I was blanketed by Elders.group, and by the time they graduated RacettegrewupinRegina,19 new participants were already SaskatchewanandwhenshewasRacette finds the tech sector not badregistered for the next session. At least laid off from a job in the oil and gasat admitting Indigenous women, givenone of the original group of graduates industry eight years ago, she foundits reputation as a haven for a nerdyhad found employment by the herself slinging coffee. When effortscrowd of tech geeks. What its slowerfollowing Octobercarrying out drone to move up to a better situation provedto embrace, however, is welcoming frustrating, she decided to create hermore women to the senior executiveimaging and mapping for AltaGas. own opportunities. For me, it waslevel. Its probably one of the most more personal, Racette says. I knewwelcoming sectors when it comes toThe drone training provided in the I wasnt getting hired because of who Iwho you areits full of a number ofprogram was delivered by Aboriginal am as a person. I kind of turned it intoamazing oddballs. The difference is,Training Services, a private, Indigenous-a vengeance, because Im destined towhen I first got into tech there were notowned company. As a certified be a much bigger and better person. a lot of women CEOs, notes Racette.member of Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business, it develops ThemainideabehindRacettesEven today, Racette says she can counttraining programs that focus on drone company Virtual Gurus was simple andon one hand the Indigenous womenoperation for consultation, surveying timely: to leverage technology to matchtech CEOs in North America.Resourcesand emergency management. executives with skilled remote assis- like incubators are becoming much tants. Racettes bigger vision, however,morecommon,andgovernmentSky Keepers is supported by ATCO was to create work-from-home oppor- funding programs have increased, but tunities for underserved Indigenousthere is enormous value in IndigenousFrontec, Enbridge Pipelines, TC Energy, communities in Canada and the U.S.,women seeing themselves representedPembina Pipelines, Petronas andusing machine learning to match themin tech, so every woman working in theCanfor Forestry.with employers. field has a tremendous impact on the Aboriginal BUSINESS REPORT 17'