INDIGENOMICS 2022 CONFERENCE
ACCESS CAPITAL
IN $100B INDIGENOUS ECONOMY

DECIDIUM created and delivered a design thinking session for 150+ participants at the May 19, 2022 Indigenomics Conference: Activating the Financial Architecture of the $100B National Annual Indigenous Economy.  The project leveraged the LEGO Serious Play (LSP) process to rapidly identify key barriers to access to capital and craft key solutions across 3 difference scenarios.  These included (1) Early Stage Indigenous Technology Start-Up; (2) Community-owned Mid-sized Resource Development Corporation; and (3) Established Large Private Business seeking New International Markets.

Key barriers uncovered included:  (a) Indian Act restrictions on status, land, tax, governance & rights inhibiting Indigenous Innovation and Business; (B) Impact and Benefit Agreements (IBAs) failing to deliver sustained, durable & meaningful financial and community improvements; (c) Sovereignty in how to generate, own & leverage Indigenous data to become a creative power players in the 5th Industrial Revolution.  Proposed solutions included:  (a) Sovereignty through Scale with co-design of national financial platforms through Indigenous peoples alliances for scale; (b) Secure Diverse Capital Platforms to engage and expand easy use of new forms of capital investment (e.g microfinance loans); and (c) Launch Indigenous 7-Gen Accelerator through co-design of a global 7-Generational Indigenous Accelerator helping new businesses access capital, mentors & markets now and for the next 7 generations.  DECIDIUM used audio, video and photography to collect quantitative data of insights created by participants through LEGO built models.  Session outcome introduced fun, unique and powerful design thinking tools and process to wide range of Indigenous companies, financial organizations and community members from across Canada and the US.