Pictured: Erika Doehring, community mentor; Meagan Curley, 3C Challenge participant; and Liam Grigg, 3C Challenge Program Manager.
By Mackenzie Ford, BCom student
How would you use $1000 to earn a profit and benefit your community? This is the question that will be posed to 1,000 Indigenous youth over the next two years thanks to the Indigenous Youth 3C Challenge—an initiative that offers youth an opportunity to explore business ideas, share practical skills and build excitement around the possibilities of entrepreneurship.
In June 2016, the BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres (BCAAFC) collaborated with the National Consortium for Indigenous Economic Development (NCIED) and the University of Victoria’s Gustavson School of Business to develop a concept and proposal for youth entrepreneurship training. The Indigenous Youth 3C Challenge welcomes all youth between the ages of 15 to 29, to discover business ownership, while honouring their traditional values.
The two-part program starts with a three‑day workshop, followed by a month‑long Challenge. The workshop focuses on the practical aspects of owning a business: opportunity identification, evaluation of opportunity fit, business model development, and timeline and milestone creation. Participants work with facilitators and mentors to explore areas of interest and opportunities that will bring value on three dimensions: Community – Culture – Cash. Teams are formed, and with access to a micro‑loan of $1000, each team conceives a viable mini-business that will create value and profit during the Challenge.
Engagement with local communities is encouraged, and a community mentor, a vital component of the program, supports the teams throughout the Challenge. Teams establish budgets, strategize ways to access materials for their product or service, pursue markets, meet deadlines and create a positive impact on the people and environment of their communities. At the end of the Challenge, after loan repayment, each team collaboratively decides how the profits will be distributed.
Focusing on innovation, positive cultural identity and collaboration, the Indigenous 3C Challenge is a stepping stone for youth to experience business ownership with many of the tools necessary for them to be successful. It allows those who may be daunted to pursue a formal business education to feel supported, understood and appreciated for their tremendous ideas and deeply ingrained entrepreneurial capabilities. “Our Indigenous ancestors excelled at entrepreneurship,” said Leslie Varley, Executive Director of the BCAAFA. “Our youth are reclaiming these skills.”
Funding from the BC Government enabled successful pilot projects to be delivered in Terrace and Port Hardy Friendship Centres in March 2018. With a commitment of $3.3 million from Service Canada, the province-wide initiative launched in November 2018. From northern BC, to the Interior, southern BC and Vancouver Island, 15 Challenges will have been delivered by the end of June 2019, with the 16th one underway. By March 2021, 50 Challenges will have been delivered in BC Friendship Centres to Indigenous youth. Additionally, over 80% of the instructors/facilitators will be of Indigenous heritage, and content and examples will emphasize Indigenous business, culture, and communities.
The Challenge has already seen great success. “One of our teams exceeded all expectations,” said Varley. “A remarkable team of young women made bath bombs with a cultural component. This team repaid their $1000 loan and went on to generate an additional $2500.” Thanks to the Indigenous Youth 3C Challenge we will see more conscientious and passionate young business owners enter the marketplace, equipped with the tools necessary for them to apply their abundance of cultural knowledge to succeed financially within their communities.
Photo: Geoff Howe
