Young entrepreneurs encouraged and guided.

It's probably not news to anybody by now that the Aboriginal youth population is the fastest growing demographic group in Canada. But what may be news to some is that the number of young Aboriginal people who are choosing to go into business for themselves is also on the rise.

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Earlier this year, the government of Saskatchewan teamed up with the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations and the Clarence Campeau Development Fund to host Excellence in Action, a symposium on Aboriginal economic development. The final report from that symposium includes a statistical snapshot of entrepreneurship among Aboriginal people. The information presented, gleaned from the Statistic Canada's analysis of the 2001 Census, shows that the number of Aboriginal entrepreneurs in Canada is increasing--more than 27,000 First Nation, Metis and Inuit people were self-employed in 2001, an increase of 31 percent when compared to numbers from the previous census in 1996.

The numbers also show that the average age of Aboriginal entrepreneurs is lower than the average for non-Aboriginal entrepreneurs, and that more than one-quarter of the Aboriginal people that are operating their own business are under the age of 35.

While the process of setting up and running your own business may seem like a daunting task, would-be entrepreneurs don't have to go it alone. There are any number of programs and projects in place that can offer assistance with such things as developing a business plan, arranging financing, and even helping young people determine if their business ideas are feasible. These supports are all the more valuable given the reality of another statistic; according to results of a study released by Statistics Canada in February 2000, at least half of all new companies go out of business within the first three years of operation.

The first stop for many young Aboriginal people dreaming of self-employment is Aboriginal Business Canada (ABC). The program, operating under the department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, offers support to Aboriginal businesses in the form of financial assistance.

ABC has a specific program stream dedicated to assisting young Aboriginal entrepreneurs. In fact, about half of the clients currently enrolled in the program are young entrepreneurs.

In addition to dealing directly with clients, ABC also works with a number of Aboriginal financial institutions across the country that help clients access funding from ABC and other sources, and provide additional supports to help them start and run successful businesses.

One such organization is Apeetogosan (Metis) Development Inc., an Edmonton-based financial institution that provides financing and support to Metis entrepreneurs in Alberta. About two-thirds of the clients Apeetogosan currently serves are young entrepreneurs.

Apeetogosan can help its clients access government funds for business start ups from both the federal and provincial governments, but the services the organization offers don't end there, explained George Vass, Apeetogosan general manager.

The first thing Apeetogosan staff do when a new client comes to them is something they call pre-care.

"Pre-care is sitting down with the client and trying to figure out exactly what kind of knowledge they have they're going to take into this business. If they don't have the management skills or the people skills that are required to run a business, we will point that out to them," Vass said. "We also review the project to see if it's viable."

If a potential client has what it takes to be an entrepreneur, and if their business idea is sound, then Apeetogosan staff assist with other aspects of the business start-up, including helping in the development of a business plan, helping them to set up their books and offering other business coaching as needed. These types of supports go a long way towards helping fledgling entrepreneurs find success, Vass said, and lessening the risks involved in starting up a new business.

While building relationships with clients is part and parcel of the way Apeetogosan does business, one of the ways the organization can measure its success is by the number of clients it loses. Once a client has successfully established his or her business, they can begin to qualify for financing through mainstream banks, and no longer need the business incubator environment that Apeetososan provides.

"It's a sad thing to see a good client move off to the bank in one way, but it also makes us proud that we've been able to help someone grow their business," Vass said.

A relative newcomer to the list of available supports for young Aboriginal entrepreneurs is Aboriginal Youth Mean Business (AYMB), an online resource serving Manitoba's Aboriginal community.

Roberta Hewson is executive director of Partners for Careers, a program out of the Manitoba department of Education, Citizenship and Youth that provides a variety of services to Aboriginal people in Manitoba. The AYMB Web site is one of the program's initiatives, designed to be a one-stop-shopping resource for Aboriginal youth interested in becoming self-employed.

The AYMB Web site was needed, Hewson said, because, while there was no shortage of resources available to Aboriginal youth wanting to start up businesses in Manitoba, information about those resources didn't seem to be getting out. Now, all the information is on the site, just a mouse-click away.

Hewson said the AYMB was first launched about three years ago, but has only existed in its current incarnation for about 10 months. Whereas the previous site provided only links to available resources, the new site offers up information about planning a business and finding training and financing, an e-newsletter and profiles of young Aboriginal entrepreneurs. It also includes a directory of Aboriginal businesses in Manitoba, and Hewson hopes to eventually add a mentorship feature so entrepreneurs who are just starting out can benefit from the wisdom and experience of more established business people.

"Like real life people telling you what their real life experience was," Hewson said.

Another feature Hewson hopes to have online soon is a self-assessment tool that will help would-be entrepreneurs get a better idea of whether self-employment is the life for them.

Hewson believes the scope of AYMB will continue to grow, with annual Aboriginal youth entrepreneur awards and a national focus for the Web site among the long-term possibilities.

"Because, I mean, Aboriginal youth entrepreneurship, there's a groundswell," she said. "You can feel it. You can feel the earth rumbling about starting businesses for young people now. It's a movement. So we don't want to drop the ball."

More information about ABC can be found online at www.stratecis.ic.gc.ca/abc. Information about Apeetogosan (Metis) Development Inc. can be found at www.apeetogosan.ab.ca. The AYMB Web site can be found at www.aymb.ca. You can also access information about resources available to young Aboriginal entrepreneurs on the Web site of the Aboriginal Business Service Network (www.canadabusiness.ca). Additional resources for young entrepreneurs can be found on the Web site of the Canadian Youth Business Foundation (www.cybf.ca), a national charity that provides entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 34 with mentoring, financial assistance and access to interactive online business resources.