Indigenous entrepreneurs receive $25 million boost from world’s first Indigenous Impact Fund - Toronto - Canada’s Podcast

The Raven Indigenous Impact Fund provides equity and equity-like capital to innovative, scalable, purpose-driven Indigenous enterprises. The Fund looks to support entrepreneurs who are at the seed and/or early stage. Through the Raven Fund, innovative Indigenous enterprises can access the support they need to grow from a trusted partner. The Fund represents a sustainable, values-driven approach to poverty reduction and community resilience that will directly contribute to the development of an Indigenous middle class. Enterprises are screened through a unique, Indigenous impact lens and receive investments ranging from $250,000 to $2 million. This is an interview about the reason and availability of this fund for Indigenous Entrepreneurs.

Paul Lacerte, Managing Partner. Paul Lacerte has provided innovative leadership to Indigenous organizations throughout his career. He is the former Vice-Chair of the Vancouver Foundation Board of Directors, the former Board Chair for Reconciliation Canada, and a former representative to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. He was awarded the Order of BC in 2014.

Jeffrey Cyr, Managing Partner. Jeff is Métis from the White Horse Plains area of Southern Manitoba, the traditional Buffalo Hunt staging grounds. For nearly 20 years, he has provided strategic leadership for Indigenous, not-for-profit, and government organizations. Jeff has helped create and implement the community-driven outcomes contract (a unique pay-for-success social finance model) and the Indigenous Solutions Lab process, which earned him an Ashoka Fellowship. Jeff is a proud husband and father of five and currently lives and works on unceded Algonquin lands in what is now known as Ottawa, Ontario.

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