Saskatchewan is one step closure to achieving economic reconciliation.
That’s from Premier Scott Moe during his speech at the third annual Indigenous Business Gathering. About 90 Indigenous businesses from all corners of the province traveled to Saskatoon for the event, which saw business owners attempt to form supply chain, procurement, and partnership opportunities with organizations in search of Indigenous-led entities.
The event had roughly 700 registrants, and a wait list of hundreds more, a dramatic increase from when it first began in 2022, signifying the increased indigenous involvement in the province’s growing economy.
Lorrie Murphy with the Saskatchewan Indigenous Enterprise Foundation says she heard about the event through work and couldn’t wait to set up a booth.
“I was definitely excited to participate,” she admitted. ” My mind was open to what the concept was, and then after registering…I realized that we’re going to be around a lot of businesses, and this is a great opportunity to network.”
She adds that this was her first year attending the event and her booth has seen a lot of traffic.
“We’ve had people come to us, inquiring about our program (because) maybe they would fit as a client. Not just that, but (we are also here to do some) networking. (We are keeping an eye out for) who we can refer clients to.”
Chief of Lac La Ronge Indian Band Tammy Cook-Searson says Indigenous business activity has skyrocketed in recent years.
“There’s more engagement. There are more Indigenous communities wanting to get into being full partners with different industries that are out there. There’s a lot more activity, and there is a lot more Indigenous communities have economic development business arms as part of their First Nation.”
She adds that it wasn’t always easy for Indigenous people to start a business of their own.
“It (the past) wasn’t an easy time. Even banks wouldn’t lend us money. We had to pay really high interest rates, because they probably felt the risk was high to lend money to first nations.”
Cook-Searson estimates that now, there are roughly 50 thousand Indigenous owned businesses across Canada.
