As a national leader in culturally responsive entrepreneurship and holistic leadership training in rural, remote and Northern Canada, we create platforms, programs, and opportunities to support individuals and communities to thrive.

Our flagship “Inspire” Program is currently being delivered in Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and the Yukon.

The program is helping young people start their own businesses, find gainful employment or take advantage of further education opportunities.

We have delivered more than 25 Inspire training programs across the territories.

How We Work

We inspire and equip individuals and communities with entrepreneurial mindsets and skills by:

  • We design and deliver localized training and mentoring programs to empower individuals to help build their community’s future.

  • We form partnerships to share insights on e-learning, social innovation, and employment support.

  • We work with academic institutions and community partners to certify our experiential entrepreneurial training at the post secondary and high school level.

  • We connect individuals with mentorship, and tangible partnership opportunities to support them in starting new enterprises, gaining employment, or attending further education.

  • We demonstrate the positive impact entrepreneurial activity can have in small communities and work to decolonize and indigenize small economy initiatives.

  • We evaluate our impact through ongoing learning, self-reflections and assessment, open dialogue, and multi-model evaluation tools.

Our Approach to Localization

Our approach is rooted in the idea that solutions to community challenges can be found in addressing the underlying factors that help - and sometimes hinder - the ability of small communities to thrive. Therefore, our approach puts historical context, geography, people, culture,  and wellness, at the core of our work.

Illustration by Elaine Landry, 2022 Program Graduate, Inspire NWT.

How we Localize

Ground & Center

Ground our work in the cultures we engage with through centering local leadership, local assets, knowledge and traditions, and connection to land and place.

Support

Support participants by meeting them where they’re at, at all stages of their personal and professional journeys, and focus on mental health and wellness 

Blend & Connect

Blend an exploration of self, community, and enterprise, and their interconnections.

Design & Adapt

Design and continuously adapt programs for, and with, young people, and Indigenous people, and ensure programming centres their perspectives and ideas.

Sustain

Sustain our impact through deliberate and meaningful capacity building of local staff, interns and partners.

Who We Work With

We believe that people who are equipped with entrepreneurial mindsets and skills, and who are engaged with and supported by their community have the power to create positive and lasting change. As part of our commitment to meaningful long-term social impact, we work directly with - and within - three levels of influence.

Individuals

We have supported more than 300 individuals to participate in our programs.

Institutions

We support Northern-based institutions to develop and offer innovative and skills-based programming to meet employer and market demands within schools, post-secondary institutions, and community-led initiatives.

Communities

We work intentionally to ensure that our offering is in line with community values, rooted in Indigenous cultures and Northern realities, and reflective of local knowledge and priorities.

Our Journey

  • 2022-2023

    The Inspire program runs concurrently across Yukon, NWT and Nunavut in partnership with university, community and Indigenous partners.

  • 2021

    Inspire NWT is launched. Inspire Nunavut & Inspire NWT deliver fully digital and hybrid programs that integrate the e-learning platform with in-person learning.

  • 2020

    The COVID-19 Pandemic hits and the program is adapted to an e-learning platform with virtual cohorts.

  • 2019

    The organization grows to a national platform; Small Economy Works is created.

  • 2015

    Program funding is secured to pilot an entrepreneurship program delivered in small communities across Nunavut.

  • 2014

    Young people from the North & South meet to discuss the future of entrepreneurship in Nunavut.