“But that was where we wanted to be. We wanted to be together.”

The Indigenous Business Education Partners (IBEP) lounge, which has since moved to a larger, more suitable space, was a meeting place for Richard, and the ecosystem that IBEP created for Indigenous business students has grown beyond a cramped, if not cozy, office.

“IBEP created a space for friendships that last even today,” she says.

Richard, who is now Lead of Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH), Indigenous, can recall many connections that began at Asper through IBEP, made with people that she still actively works or keeps in touch with.

As an Asper student, she developed a keen understanding of the value of sustaining community and of creating space for more Indigenous leaders and innovators.

“That was the vision I had from day one: I wanted that closeness to continue. For instance, I knew it was important to keep [UM Indigenous Commerce Students] alive when I graduated, and I wanted to find people earlier in their BComm who had that same passion.”

Richard’s vision for WEKH is not unlike this approach—her focus is never solely on her own success, but on creating that space and those opportunities for other Indigenous women entrepreneurs.

“WEKH is centered around building relationships and an inclusive innovation ecosystem for women entrepreneurs across the country. I work to share information, build connections and establish understanding between the various organizations that support Indigenous women entrepreneurs,” she says.

“These ecosystems need to offer support while ensuring Indigenous women have full control over what they are creating. It’s not just about providing pockets of funding specifically for Indigenous communities; it’s about creating that space for passion, innovation, connection and allyship.”

Asper is home to the Manitoba Hub and the National Indigenous Hub of WEKH, a Canadian network and platform for sharing research, resources and leading strategies for women entrepreneurs. Richard leads the National Indigenous Hub, while Director of the Burns Leadership Institute Suzanne Gagnon and Director of the Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship Debra Jonasson-Young lead the provincial chapter.

For Richard, the aim of WEKH is not just to support individual entrepreneurs, but to create spaces for more Indigenous women to succeed in entrepreneurship by providing community and opportunities for connection.

“We have put a lot into building these relationships within the network, where now amazing things can happen without me or WEKH itself planning events. We’ve been able to focus more on supporting the events and resources that members of our network plan rather than running everything directly from WEKH.”

WEKH has built this ecosystem across a vast national network, with opportunities to connect in-person, but with an intentional focus on sustaining relationships across the country.

Where connection lives

Richard understands that her role is not just to create connections, but to create a space where connections can grow and flourish in unexpected ways, to create a reliable touchpoint for establishing and revitalizing professional relationships, to be attuned to the echoes of past or intergenerational connections.

She values reconnecting just as much, reaching out to her old teachers who saw her as more than a problem student, telling them how much their connection—however brief—impacted her story. She recalls a young woman and public speaker doing the same to her. While she values knowing about this impact and informing her own mentors about their influence, she is careful not to make that acknowledgement the reason for her work.

“Be a positive part of other people’s lives as best you can, but don’t do it for the promise of credit down the line. Do it because you want to and accept that you may never find out whose life you affected. There will be signs along the way that you’re on the right path.”

At WEKH, the signs are a robust network of women entrepreneurs empowered to create and connect, guided by Asper leaders and innovators.

At IBEP, the signs include a community of 182 alumni (whose time in the program created lifelong friendships), a lasting potential for new connections and a 30-year legacy of supporting Indigenous business students in their pursuit of leadership, innovation and impact.

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In the upcoming year, WEKH Indigenous is looking forward to partnering with both Indigenomics and the National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association on two events that will create opportunities for Indigenous women entrepreneurs to thrive. Learn more here.

“I always dreamed I would get to this moment and feel this sense of accomplishment.”

Deidre Dewar joined the Bachelor of Commerce (BComm) program at the Asper School of Business as a mature student and a mother. This spring, she joins the Asper Class of 2023 at convocation.

Her undergraduate career began five years ago at Red River College Polytechnic. Through the Joint Articulation agreement, she was able to continue her studies at UM.

Dewar’s journey actually began much earlier with that ever-present dream and her unwavering passion for learning. A degree was more than a credential to her, and as she moved through life’s challenges and competing priorities, it took on more meaning.

As a child, Dewar observed her mother completing her bachelor’s degree, and in June she becomes the second in her family to do the same. She hopes to carry on this tradition, setting a strong example for her children, giving back to her community and inspiring other First Nations women.

Dewar reflects on her achievement, what it meant as a dream and how it is opening doors for her now.

“I wanted to pursue self-determination to secure a better quality of life for myself and my family—to be a role model for my kids and show them that persistence and dedication can help you achieve your goals.”

Dewar made sacrifices to complete an undergraduate program while balancing family life. Ultimately, her family’s support and the years she spent working before returning to school were what helped her succeed.

“When I was younger, the first time around, I didn’t have a lot of security or as many supportive people around me. This time, I do, but it took time to set that up for myself,” she says.

Early mornings getting her kids ready for daycare before class and late nights studying math were manageable thanks to this support and her conviction that the sacrifices would be worth it.

Dewar also came into the program with an eye for possibility, an ability to imagine success for herself and take advantage of every learning opportunity.

At Asper, she joined the President’s Student Leadership Program (PSLP), surrounding herself with a diverse group of student leaders from a range of backgrounds.

“PSLP was amazing,” she says. “It was an exploration of leadership at all levels, and Dr. Suzanne Gagnon was an integral part of that journey.”

Gagnon, Leadership and Organization Director at the Burns Leadership Institute, introduced Dewar to the Women’s Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH) at Asper and WEKH Indigenous Lead Ashley Richard. Dewar eventually secured a research assistant position at WEKH and worked on their See It Be It campaign which increases visibility and representation of women entrepreneurs.

Dewar is also a graduate of Indigenous Business Education Partners (IBEP) at Asper, where she accessed tutoring and career services.

“The team at IBEP were great mentors, and they helped me see what’s out there, including jobs that are more equity seeking or Indigenous-friendly. There are larger institutions that I never thought I could work at, but IBEP was very supportive, bringing those employers in and empowering me to see myself in those roles.”

Dewar’s experiences with PSLP and IBEP expanded the boundaries of what she believed was possible for herself; they revealed more paths forward than she had expected.

As she reflects on graduation, Dewar is in no rush to choose which path to follow. Instead, she is embracing this feeling of possibility and taking time to celebrate her achievement.

“I went to the Graduation Pow Wow and celebrated with other Indigenous graduates. I am glad to wear my ribbon skirt and practice my cultural identity through graduation. Asper has helped me be more confident in my cultural identity as well as my business skills.”

She has a few new dreams for her future—while she might pursue entrepreneurship on the side, she is currently considering graduate studies. She might even like to teach one day.

“Right now, I’m taking it all in, all the years of hard work, all the patience, all the sacrifice,” she says.

She has arrived at the moment she always dreamed of, and that arrival brings a sense of purpose. “I don’t yet know exactly what that purpose is, but it’s coming together—it’s manifesting,” she says.

Dewar worked for years to secure something more important than a singular purpose. In committing to learning, making sacrifices and embracing her story—challenges and all—she found possibility.

PRESIDENT’S STUDENT LEADERSHIP PROGRAM OPENS APPLICATIONS FOR ITS 2020 PROGRAM
In 2019, 27 students from 18 different disciplines participated in the first cohort of the President’s Student Leadership Program (PSLP). This program offers a unique-in-Canada immersive learning opportunity that brings students together from across subjects, post-secondary institutions, interests, and regions of the province.

In early February, applications for the 2020 program opened to students in all faculties at UM and PSLP’s partner institutions. This year’s program ran from June 6-13 inclusive and on four Saturdays in the fall and winter 2020-21. Admission to the program was granted to those who had demonstrated impactful leadership in their community or student life and were committed to developing their collaborative knowledge and skills to make positive changes in their environment. Read more.

INDIGENOUS BUSINESS EDUCATION PARTNER’S PRESENT TOP AWARD
Of French-Métis decent and born in Winnipeg on Treaty 1 land, Noah Bartlett was the 2020 recipient of the Indigenous Business Education Partners (IBEP) Scholarship, an award valued up to $5,000. It’s given to an Indigenous high school student entering the Asper School of Business who demonstrates a combination of academic excellence and community involvement. Bartlett shined in his application with a high GPA, participation in extra curriculars, and a commitment to his community. Read more.

ASHLEY RICHARD BRINGS WOMENS ENTREPRENEURIAL ECOSYSTEM TO LIFE
As the Manitoba regional hub of the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH), the Asper School of Business is a part national network of ten regional hubs designed to increase women entrepreneurs’ access to financing, talent, networks, and expertise. 

Earlier this year WEKH created a national lead of Indigenous women’s entrepreneurship, and Asper Alumna Ashley Richard accepted the position.

While Richard’s role encompasses all of Canada, Asper is proud to hold the Indigenous lead role, as it supports existing Asper initiatives taking place within the Indigenous Business Education Partners, the Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship and the Asper regional hub itself. Read more.

ASPER STUDENT SHARES CO-OP EXPERIENCE
Michela Troia is a co-op student in her third year at the Asper School of Business, where she is majoring in Marketing and Entrepreneurship/Small Business.

This summer, Michela worked as a marketing and communications student in a joint role for the Asper School of Business and the James W. Burns Leadership Institute. She connected with the Asper School of Business Career Development Centre to describe her experience in her first co-op term. Read more.

2020 ASSOCIATES ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
The 2020 Associates Achievement Awards were held virtually in November to recognize faculty members who achieved outstanding performance in research, teaching and engagement. Unique to this year, the Associates presented three additional awards to recognize Asper faculty who had provided outstanding contributions beyond their normal research and teaching roles, during the pandemic. Read more.

AGENT FOR FEMALE EMPOWERMENT AND MOTHER OF THREE SHARES HER MBA JOURNEY
We connected with recent Asper MBA graduate, Larissa Kanhai, who recently graduated from the Asper MBA program with a specialization in sustainability and public enterprise. She started the program in 2015 with a broad background including a Bachelor of Science from the University of Saskatchewan, a Bachelor of Arts Honors in International Development Studies from York University, and a range of work experience in the non-profit sector.

With experience in sustainability, diversity, and ecumenical justice in the nonprofit sector, Kanhai desired organizational and administrative expertise. She felt that an MBA would help her achieve that. While an MBA was something that Kanhai always wanted to complete, it wasn’t until the birth of her third child that she finally made the commitment. Read more.

ASPER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS LAUNCHES APPLIED SMALL BUSINESS COURSE
In response to challenges facing many local businesses during COVID-19 restrictions, the Asper School of Business created a new undergraduate course designed to give back to the Manitoba business community. This course provided students an opportunity to actively work with small businesses to help find solutions to their current challenges. Recognizing the urgent need within the community, the course entitled Applied Small Business Consulting launched September of 2020. Read more.

TEAM TOBA “ROCKS THE HOUSE” AT JDC WEST 2020
With one of the best performances to date, the Asper School of Business reinforced its place as a top Canadian business school at the 2020 JDC West Competition in Regina, Saskatchewan from January 17-19, 2020. The three-day event showcased academics, athletics, debate, and out-of-the-box social competitions. 

Team Toba, co-captained by Christine Sheppard and Jacquelyn Townsend, won awards in a mix of categories. Asper placed third overall as Academic School of the Year among twelve of the premier post-secondary institutions across Western Canada. This result was a product of the combined scores for all teams in each of the academic case categories, including debate.

This year’s virtual competition is being held by the Asper School of Business and will take place January 15-17, 2021. Read more.  

To learn more about the Asper School or stay up-to-date with events and announcements in the New Year, be sure to visit our website.

Earlier this year WEKH created a national lead of Indigenous women’s entrepreneurship, and Asper Alumna Ashley Richard accepted the position.

While Richard’s role encompasses all of Canada, Asper is proud to hold the Indigenous lead role, as it supports existing Asper initiatives taking place within the Indigenous Business Education Partners, the Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship and the Asper regional hub itself.

 “Ashley Richard has truly done amazing work developing roundtables for Indigenous women entrepreneurs and organizations in every region and province, and is developing a needs analysis that focuses on Indigenous women entrepreneurs, which has never been done before,” said Suzanne Gagnon, Associate Professor and Director for the James W. Burns Leadership Institute, who co-leads the Asper regional hub with Debra Jonasson-Young, Director of the Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship.

Richard is well-known within the University of Manitoba community based on her numerous awards and academic achievements including the Manitoba Aboriginal Youth Achievement Award, the Helen Betty Osborne Memorial Scholarship, and an Indspire Scholarship Award.  Along with her academic honours, Richard brings a range of employment-related experience to the position from her time working with the Manitoba Treaty Commission, Rising Youth, and executive search firm, Leaders International. She is also currently working on her Master of Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship from Queen’s University. 

We connected with Richard to discuss her role as National Indigenous Outreach & Partnership Development Lead for the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub.

What does your role entail?

I am working with the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub on their national Indigenous outreach and partnerships strategy. My aim is to work with existing ecosystem partners across Canada to create an inclusive innovation ecosystem for Indigenous women entrepreneurs. I am working on making connections with other organizations who support Indigenous women entrepreneurs and creating opportunities to share recommended practices, reduce fragmentation and repetition, and create an ecosystem where Indigenous women entrepreneurs can thrive. WEKH has 10 regional hubs across Canada, and while I am based out of the University of Manitoba hub at the Asper School of Business, I work with all of the regional hubs across Canada.

What are some projects or initiatives you are working on right now?

I developed a 3 phase plan for the Indigenous Outreach and partnerships strategy. Phase 1 was the Indigenous ecosystem mapping, Phase 2 is the development of a comprehensive needs analysis on Indigenous women entrepreneurs, and Phase 3 will be the development and implementation of a long term strategy based on findings from Phase 1 and 2. Phase 1 and 2 are largely centred on identifying who is doing what and where and identifying gaps. Phase 2 is set to be completed over the summer and I will be working closely with our regional hub in Ontario, PARO Centre for Women’s Enterprise, to complete the analysis.

Tell us more about the Indigenous women’s ecosystem.

The Indigenous women’s ecosystem is a mapping of all organizations across Canada who are supporting Indigenous women entrepreneurs, and highlighting those organizations that have programs specific to Indigenous women. My preliminary Indigenous ecosystem mapping report consisted of approximately 150 organizations, and a large portion of these organizations were Aboriginal Financial Institutions (AFI) affiliated with the National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association. Of all the organizations profiled, less than 20 had programs specifically geared towards Indigenous women.

You’ve been holding virtual round-tables, what can you tell us about these?

The virtual round-tables are part of Phase 2. These round-tables happen over Zoom and are an opportunity for ecosystem organizations to share opportunities they have for Indigenous women entrepreneurs. Most importantly, they are a space where Indigenous women can share some of the unique challenges and barriers they face as entrepreneurs. We have national and regional ecosystem representation at these meetings – some of which include NACCA, Native Women’s Association of Canada, the National Indigenous Economic Development Board, Women’s Enterprise Organizations of Canada, not-for-profits, and other WEKH regional hubs.  In some regions, such as MB and AB, participants enjoyed the first round-table so much that we decided to hold a second one so more could attend. Aside from the regionally based round-tables, I am also hosting two special round-tables that are national in scope – one for Creative Indigenous women entrepreneurs, and the other for Inuit women entrepreneurs. Altogether, there will be between 17-20 round-table discussions reaching over 250 participants across the country.

You are hosting the Inuit Women’s Entrepreneurship round-table event next week, tell us about this event and what you would like people to know about it?

This round-table event will be open to all Inuit Women Entrepreneurs across Canada. This round-table is an opportunity for Inuit women entrepreneurs to network, share their stories, and connect with one another. WEKH will be joined by NACCA, NWAC, and EntrepreNorth. The event is open to all Inuit women entrepreneurs and supporting ecosystem organizations.

If you are interested in joining Ashley at one of her round-tables, registration is open on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/inuit-womens-entrepreneurship-tickets-107594592322

WEKH is a national network for sharing research, resources, and leading strategies across organizations that support women entrepreneurs. With ten regional hubs and a network of more than 200 partners, WEKH is designed to address the needs of diverse women entrepreneurs across regions and across sectors.

WEKH Manitoba Directors Suzanne Gagnon, Associate Professor and Director for the James W. Burns Leadership Institute, and Debra Jonasson-Young, Director, Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship, are working with WEKH to provide resources and information for the Manitoba network during this critical time.

“We at WEKH Manitoba are providing this information to you in the hopes that either you or those you serve, will find this information timely and valuable,” says Jonasson-Young. “We encourage you to share this information with those in your network that could benefit from this knowledge”.