Research pick: Indigenous entrepreneurs - "Contextual impact on indigenous entrepreneurs around the world: geographic location, socio-cultural context and economic structure"

The global population of indigenous people surpasses the total population of the USA and is almost equal to that of the European Union, but despite this a stifling “Western” perspective on most aspects of culture, society, and economics, means that many indigenous people are often marginalised as minorities and caught in the poverty trap, as well facing many other hardships. Research in the International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business now highlights the role of entrepreneurship in empowering indigenous communities.

Prescott C. Ensign of the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, has conducted a study to investigate this phenomenon and sheds new light on the various factors that influence the establishment and operation of businesses by indigenous people. Ensign’s findings underscore the significance of addressing the unique challenges and opportunities faced by indigenous entrepreneurs, while also emphasizing the interconnectedness of contextual factors that affect the outcomes of their efforts. Entrepreneurship might help individuals and their communities overcome some of the political and economic disadvantages they encounter. Indeed, entrepreneurship has emerged as a potential avenue for empowerment and wealth creation among these indigenous populations.

The research, aimed at investigating the dynamics of indigenous entrepreneurship, develops a conceptual framework of the various factors. Ensign’s framework offers an analytical tool and allowed him to carry out a qualitative examination of over fifty instances of indigenous entrepreneurship in remote, rural, and urban areas across twelve countries.

Geographic embeddedness is an important factor as are indigenous cultural factors and the mainstream economic structures that surround them. All of these might conspire to shape the success and operation of a business. However, the Western-Eurocentric perspective is a common hindrance, the work suggests. By recognizing and valuing indigenous culture and practices, Ensign’s research suggests that more effective and empowering strategies might be developed to better support entrepreneurship within indigenous communities.

There is an overarching urgency to change the perspective to one that emphasizes the importance of the indigenous entrepreneurial ecosystem and allows it to thrive, one that encompasses the unique challenges and opportunities specific to indigenous entrepreneurs rather than assuming such businesses can be treated with the aforementioned “Western” ethos.

Policymakers and stakeholders from both the indigenous and non-indigenous communities can best work together and can contribute to the economic well-being and overall empowerment of indigenous communities by recognising the barriers and limitations and finding ways to overcome them. A business model that is heterogeneous and not homogenous is now needed to create a more inclusive and culturally diverse world of entrepreneurship.

“Findings also provide evidence that indigenous entrepreneurship is growing and prevails in many forms around the world,” writes Ensign. “This is positive considering current and past actions of oppression, neglect, marginalisation, and constraints that target indigenous people. Indigenous entrepreneurs are overcoming these and moving ahead.”

Ensign, P.C. (2023) ‘Contextual impact on indigenous entrepreneurs around the world: geographic location, socio-cultural context and economic structure’, Int. J. Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Vol. 49, No. 1, pp.150–186.