EMPOWERING STUDENTS THROUGH ENTREPRENEURSHIP
We believe the path to success begins when all students have the opportunity to reach their full potential.
The Aboriginal Youth Entrepreneurship Program (AYEP) supports Indigenous students as they learn how to create successful futures.
In 2007, the Martin Family Initiative (MFI) launched AYEP to introduce Indigenous high school students to business opportunities within the Canadian economy. The curriculum teaches students how to nurture their entrepreneurial spirit, improve financial literacy and communication skills, and gives them an opportunity to explore a variety of post-secondary options. But at the heart of the program is a simple hope: that students leave with improved self-confidence and belief in their own potential.
When a school chooses to offer the AYEP courses, it joins a group of educators across the country who share high aspirations for their students.
Not only do students learn the skills required to do well in high school and beyond, they also create a sense of community in the AYEP classroom. They learn that their ideas matter—that they matter.
My hope is that every student who completes AYEP goes on to showcase their skills in every field they are involved in and that they become the role models for the generations that come after them.
The Right Honourable Paul Martin, Founder of the Martin Family Initiative and the 21st Prime Minister of CanadaWhen you incorporate Indigenous knowledges and examples of Indigenous success stories, students actually see that their way of learning – their view of the world – is valid and very transferable into today’s world.
Lorne Belmore, Principal