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Aboriginal entrepreneurs

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A vibrant group of Aboriginal entrepreneurs is rapidly emerging in Canada. Although still a relatively small niche in the Canadian business world, the number of self-employed Indians, Métis and Inuit increased nine times faster than the number of self-employed in the general population from 1996 to 2001.

In 1981, there were 7,485 self-employed Aboriginal people; 20 years later, that number surpassed 27,000. While many pursue more traditional businesses such as fishing, trapping, farming and the construction trades, Aboriginal entrepreneurs have also branched out to virtually every other industry, including software design, tourism, the arts and health care.

Chart: Self-employed workers, urban/rural distribution, 2001Aboriginal businesses parallel other Canadian enterprises. The majority are small (employing one to four workers) and located in an urban area, and the proportion of women and young entrepreneurs is expanding quickly.

A growing number are profitable, too. In 2002, 72% of Aboriginal entrepreneurs reported a before-tax profit, a gain of 10 percentage points from 1995. More than one in four of these businesses showed profits greater than $30,000. When they did incur losses, about 60% lost less than $10,000. But losses can be painful no matter how small: more than two out of three Aboriginal businesses used less than $25,000 in start-up funds.

Many Aboriginal businesses have shown that they have staying power. Nearly 70% have had their doors open for more than five years, and 43% have been operating for 10 years or longer.

Most Aboriginal business owners see a bright future. In 2002, nearly two out of three Aboriginal entrepreneurs expected their businesses to grow within the next two years. This proportion reached 70% for entrepreneurs in British Columbia and Yukon.