Entrepreneurs take New York

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On Aug. 28 to Sept. 1, the Institute of Leadership Development (ILD) hosted the 7th World Summit of Young Entrepreneurs at the World Trade Centre in New York City. The ILD, which is based in Toronto, selected New York City to host this year's summit because of its reputation as the business capital of the world. This international business event attracted more than 300 young entrepreneurs from 93 different countries, including 15 Aboriginal delegates from Canada.

The Canadian Council of Aboriginal Business Canada selected the 15 delegates. Most delegates came from British Columbia, while the rest came from the Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec. The delegates were from a variety of businesses, including technology, film, fashion, entertainment, media, and tourism.

Flavio Caron, and Kristin Kozuback from the Canadian Council of Aboriginal Business organized the trip in only three weeks, which was a daunting task.

"It was a lot of work in deciding who should go, but I think we picked a good group because they all have great potential to expand internationally as young business owners," explained Caron. "It was a great experience all together. I think they will definitely benefit from it."

"Since the summit ended, we have been getting calls from all over Canada, who want to know where to contact these young people," added Kristin Kozuback.

"These young entrepreneurs represented Canada in a very professional way, and made people realize the benefits about doing business with First Nations people in Canada.

There were a lot of Aboriginal entrepreneurs from Canada who were not sponsored by ABC, but later joined the group, such as Norman Fournier from the Vancouver-based Indiginets.com.

"I was very amazed with the Aboriginal young entrepreneurs from Canada who had great success stories," explained Fournier. "It was great to see such a powerful representation of Aboriginal business at this conference. I think it left a long-lasting impression."

Indeed it did. Many other delegates from the 7th World Summit made joint ventures with the Canadian delegates, which was one of the main purposes of the summit. International expansion was on everybody's minds, as this was the perfect opportunity for entrepreneurs to expand their companies into the markets. The 7th World Summit had many keynote speakers presenting seminars on different topics of business, such as accessing venture capital, online expansion, communicating with share holders, networking, and e-commerce. At night there were gala dinners that featured entertainment, as well as great networking opportunities.

There were executives from multi-billion dollar corporations, venture capitalists, politicians, and representatives from some of the biggest organizations in the world. Andrew Fiddaman is the associate director of the Prince of Wales Business Leaders Forum from the United Kingdom. Some of his main points during a first day presentation touched on the challenges of business, entrepreneurial qualities, leadership and vision, and creating winners.

Andrew Fiddaman explained that, "Being an entrepreneur is like being a basketball player. You can improve on your skills, but you must have a passion for it. You don't want to sit on the bench all your life. You eventually want to become a starter. You have to think like an entrepreneur, prepare the risks, never be off-duty, and be flexible and capitalize on opportunities."

"I was overwhelmed by some of the speakers," explained Sam Damm, one of the Canadian Aboriginal delegates, who owns Ottawa-based Foxwise Technologies. "I definitely made some major contacts from around the world for my company. I hope that soon we can start doing business internationally, because I already see the huge potential."

Wade Cachagee, president of Ontario based Cree-Tech. Inc. found it to be another enlightening experience considering this wasn't his first time attending one of these business events. He als attended the 6th World Summit in Lyon, France in 1998, just months after he won the 1998 youth award from the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundations.

The 7th World Summit ended day five with a remarkable speech from Canada's own Honorable Ethel Blondin-Andrew, Secretary of State, Training and Youth. She emphasized how important it is to invest into today's youth by explaining, "in the year 2010, 70 per cent of the world's population will be under 30."

When asked about her thoughts about the group of Canadian Aboriginal entrepreneurs, she replied, "They are an example of what is out there, and an example of their own individuality. They have no fear for the challenges that face them in the future. I support each and every one of them. They are the new thinkers,' and the real future leaders. I know they will be successful, because it shows in what they're doing for Canada and its Aboriginal people."