Foundation seeks entrepreneurs
Non-profit organization offers funding, training and sustained mentorship
Walter Strong
Northern News Services
Published Monday, May 5, 2014
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The Canadian Youth Business Foundation (CYBF) is a Toronto-based non-profit organization that focuses on working with young business-minded people, aged 18 to 39, to take them from business ideas to a fully developed business plan, with post-start-up guidance.
Julia Deans, left, Canadian Youth Business Foundation CEO and Northern director Joelle Foster in the corner, lead local entrepreneurs and business leaders through a workshop. The CYBF hopes to make young entrepreneurs aware of their services. - NNSL file photo |
Small business loans tailored to the needs of entrepreneurs are also available through the CYBF. In partnership with the Business Development Bank, the organization is able to provide small business loans of up to $45,000 without the usual collateral requirements.
"It's based on character, not collateral," said Joelle Foster, CYBF director for Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nunavut and NWT.
Since 1996, more than 6,000 entrepreneurs have been helped through the program, but Foster said no one from the NWT has taken full advantage of the program yet.
"People don't really know about us up here," said Foster, who was born in Baker Lake.
"We need to get the word out that there's a non-profit here that really wants to help you succeed.
"We are very interested in raising our profile in the North," Foster added.
"For me it's as personal as: it's where I grew up and I want to give back. I see the potential for growth and I want to empower young people, let them know that they can be their own bosses and that they can make a difference in their communities."
The CYBF sees opportunities waiting for young people in the North, if they could learn to see the economic world around them from a different perspective.
"You've got a lot of people here thinking they're going to go south to university and stay there, or they're going to join a big mining company so they don't have to think about being an entrepreneur," Deans said.
The Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor) fully supports the CYBF initiative to expand resources for young entrepreneurs in the North.
Although CanNor focuses on economic growth surrounding large projects, CYBF's mandate fits in with the fundamental 'why' of CanNor's work.
"We're not doing this to import labour," said Matthew Spence, director general for CanNor's Northern Projects Management Office in Yellowknife.
"We're trying to foster local opportunities. People tend to think of mining as just digging rocks out of the ground. We see mining as an opportunity to develop other industries, like accounting, graphic design, lawyers, medical services.
"Mining, oil and gas figure so prominently in the North, but there's a lack of eduction and understanding surrounding entrepreneurship. Youth look at being a heavy equipment operator or a mechanic instead of running a business that supplies operators and mechanics.
"That's the next evolution. We have to move from being workers to service providers."
The foundation's resources directly address unique challenges young entrepreneurs might face in the North.
Specifically, they have "entrepreneurs in residence" who host webinars and Skype chats with entrepreneurs in the program, and mentoring at no cost for up to two years.
Perhaps most importantly, the organization has a connection to the North.
"As the director, I am always available to entrepreneurs to discuss any issues they may be having around business plans, financials, work-life balance, (or other) challenges," Foster said.
"As someone who grew up in the North, I understand the particular challenges that can arise with target markets, operations, the high cost of living, and human resources. I am very hands-on with my entrepreneurs."
