Profitable but Starved of Cash: Indigenous Founders Face a Funding Gap

Mila MacCuish and Lucy Ji turned their Toronto skin-care line, Irritated., into a six-figure business in 11 months — and still nearly stalled for lack of cash. The self-funded company could not afford its second manufacturing run, forcing the founders to seek outside money for the first time.

"My worst nightmare is selling out, and having people coming to us wanting product and not being able to give that to them, and they go somewhere else," MacCuish said during a recent webinar hosted by the Indigenous Prosperity Foundation.

The pair eventually secured a bridge loan through Futurepreneur, which also matched them with a business mentor — a relationship that continues today. In hindsight, MacCuish said, they should have researched funding earlier. They had held back because they feared banks would not take two young, inexperienced founders seriously.

"We had complete imposter syndrome," she said.

What does the new report reveal?

The Indigenous Prosperity Foundation spent two years surveying more than 100 Indigenous entrepreneurs and business owners, reviewing literature, conducting interviews, and assessing existing programs and capital support. The resulting report, Financial Literacy and Access to Capital, was released in early October.

"We wanted to better understand Indigenous entrepreneurs' needs, specifically as it relates to making confident financial decisions and how the systems around them could become more accessible, responsible, and culturally aligned," said Michelle Okere, the foundation's executive director.

The survey numbers sketch a funding picture built on personal balance sheets:

• 90 of 102 respondents used personal savings to finance their business.
• 54 had used grants.
• 37 had used bank loans.
• 41 were unaware that Indigenous-focused financial institutions or programs existed.

When asked what would most help their business move forward, respondents overwhelmingly chose one-to-one mentorship or coaching. Okere cautioned that knowledge alone cannot close the gap.

"The findings suggest to us that while knowledge matters — yes, it's important — knowledge alone can't solve for all barriers that exist for Indigenous entrepreneurs," she said.

The takeaway in plain words: Indigenous founders are financing businesses from their own pockets because they often do not know — or trust — the alternatives.

How are banks responding?

Brittanee Laverdure, director of the Truth and Reconciliation Office at RBC Origins, the bank's truth and reconciliation program, said early-stage entrepreneurs typically bring passion and purpose but need guidance on basics: maintaining a good credit score, building a solid business plan, and accessing capital.

"It's really about being able to meet the clients where they're at," Laverdure said.

RBC has built partnerships with Indigenous-led organizations, including the National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association (NACCA), the Indigenous Prosperity Foundation, Futurepreneur, and Powwow Pitch, which provide culturally specific programming. Laverdure encouraged founders to lean on bankers for mentorship and connections.

She acknowledged that Indigenous entrepreneurs may be reluctant to trust financial institutions, given past conflicts over property ownership and loans. RBC's reconciliation plan includes a mandate to "listen, investigate, and learn," she said, and cultural training for staff and leadership has been "embedded" in the organization.

"I think it's really going to trust, and when you have trust, there's more safety. The walls start coming down, and people become more comfortable," Laverdure said. "As an organization, we're really trying to break those walls down."

Whether corporate partnerships can offset that historic mistrust is a question the report's own data keeps open — four in ten respondents did not know Indigenous-focused options even existed.

What support is on offer?

The Indigenous Prosperity Foundation's Indigenous Launchpad for Entrepreneurs targets early-stage startups. Participants receive five hours of online learning, a 12-week mentor match, and up to $5,000 in startup funds — "which, when you're in that early stage and you're self-funded, can really go a long way," Okere said.

MacCuish said she wishes she had known about such support when starting Irritated. She urges other young entrepreneurs to use every resource available and to ask for help without shame.

Now profitable, Irritated. is planning to give back. MacCuish and Ji are in the early stages of launching a scholarship for an Indigenous business student, and MacCuish hopes to partner with the University of Alberta, her parents' alma mater.

"Money is opportunity," she said. "Don't be ashamed, especially as an Indigenous entrepreneur, to make money. That is what is allowing us now at this point to be able to give back a small amount."