IWBC Native American Mini Series

In the fall of 2020 the IWBC and the University of Idaho, College of Agricultural and Life Science partnered in carrying out focus groups at the CDA tribe and Nez Perce Tribes specifically looking at the barriers Native American Women Business owners & start ups faced when launching a business and growing a business. From the data collected in these focus groups Tatiana Morales the Associate Director of the North ID office of the IWBC partnered with members within both tribes to collaborate on creating resources for these business owners that where culturally competent and valuable for their business launch or growth. From this collaboration a mini-series was developed and broken into 4 main sections; Business Planning, Payment Processing, Ecommerce/ Marketing and Accounting. Each of these sections is intended to be hosted by a different tribe and welcome the tribe to the alliance while building on to one another in material for a business owner to launch or grow their business. 

Within the mini-series other collaborative webinars have been carried out; Building Success as a Native American Entrepreneur in a Demanding Market by Leslie Deer Founder of L. A. Deer Apparel, and Native American Business Development: Empowerment Workshops by Tatiana Morales & Diane Bevan.

A kickoff celebration luncheon welcoming Nez Perce Tribe members to the Idaho Native American Women Business Alliance was held earlier this year. The event included business keynote speaker Jo Ann Kauffman, President and Founder of Kauffman & Associates and a payment processing workshop by ICCU. Participants learned the pros and cons of different payment processing systems and other financial business.

Watch the Nez Perce Kick Off Event:  The Power of Tribal Women ECommerce – YouTube

About the INAWBA

The Idaho Native American Women Business Alliance is a collaboration with members of the Nez Perce, CDA and Shoshone Bannock Tribes and statewide partners who are dedicated to engage, educate and empower ID Native American women to start and grow thriving businesses. We invite all Idaho Native American women to join this Alliance to promote their business, products and services, to collaborate with each other and to create a stronger community alliance creating relationships with those of other tribes across all of Idaho.