The Canadian Council of Indigenous Business forum brought together Indigenous leadership in Toronto this week. Courtesy Paul Rice
Fostering economic development and sharing Kahnawake’s achievements in the business world were top of mind for Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) chief Paul Rice at the Canadian Council of Indigenous Business (CCIB) Central Business forum, which took place in Toronto this week.
“Part of our political priorities includes building relationships. We want to build relationships with other communities and stand shoulder to shoulder with them, so that we can improve economies not only for ourselves in Kahnawake,” said Rice, who is the lead on the economic development portfolio at MCK. “For us, Kahnawake is obviously the most important, but we want to look at opportunities that are available to us with different nations as well, geographically speaking.”
The CCIB forum took place yesterday, February 26, and featured networking opportunities as well as panels and talks from industry experts. Rice spoke on a panel titled “Shifting the Focus: Why Indigenous Economic Development Should Champion Small Business,” which was presented by the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub.
He shared with attendees the entrepreneurial spirit that is alive and well in Kahnawake, giving his thoughts on how to best support local entrepreneurs in launching small and medium-sized businesses.