Teaching Entrepreneurship to Indigenous and Other Minorities: Towards a Strong Sense of Self, Tangible Skills and Active Participation Within Society

Successful commercial enterprise born of entrepreneurial activity is increasingly recognised as a means through which the world’s impoverished Indigenous minority peoples might attain financial independence. Previous research has shown that owner-operators of successful Indigenous commercial enterprises have little to no entrepreneurial training and that the key to successful entrepreneurship education for Indigenous peoples is the combination of an empowering pedagogical approach and socioculturally relevant content. This paper is the product of over a decade of independent research within North America, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland that examined the attributes of successful Indigenous entrepreneurs and educational programs that benefited Indigenous students.