Building Pathways to Indigenous Entrepreneurship: Feasibility and Impact of a Business Incubator on Southern Vancouver Island

Funded by a SSHRC Insight Development Grant, this project will assess demand for an Indigenous business incubator on Southern Vancouver Island.

This project will assess demand for an Indigenous business incubator, identify culturally relevant services, and evaluate sustainability challenges. A mixed-methods approach will engage Indigenous entrepreneurs, leaders, and stakeholders through surveys, interviews, and focus groups. Guided by relational accountability, the study centers Indigenous knowledge systems, using storytelling and collaborative methods (Wilson, 2008; Smith, 2012).

Led by Dr. Tasha Brooks (PI, Royal Roads University), a Coast Salish scholar and elected councillor with extensive entrepreneur and economic development experience, and Dr. Sherry Mattice (co-applicant, UVic), a Nuu-chah-nulth academic with a doctorate in Indigenous entrepreneurship, this study leverages lived experience and deep community connections. Anticipated outcomes include evidence-based recommendations for an Indigenous business incubator on Southern Vancouver Island. A knowledge mobilization toolkit and policy briefs will inform practitioners and policymakers, creating a replicable model for supporting Indigenous entrepreneurship while fostering self-determination and cultural preservation (Gallagher & Lawrence, 2012; Coté & Evans, 2023).