A non-profit organization funded by Federated Co-operatives Limited has launched a guidebook and website to help Indigenous communities explore business development using the co-op model.
Executive Director of Co-operatives First, Audra Kreuger, says since the organization began about five years ago, they have been talking with Indigenous communities and one key finding is that there isn’t enough knowledge out there about what co-ops are and how they work.
That’s what this guidebook is about.
It explains that a co-op is a formal legal structure that includes a group of people with a shared goal.
Most people know co-ops for food and fuel, but Kreuger says there are actually a variety of opportunities out there.
For instance, Co-operatives First has helped with daycares, control and ownership of technical services on a First Nation, and an Indigenous art co-op.
In the past five years, the organization has worked with 38 groups in various stages of their business development.
Find more information here.