Jeff Cyr
Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Raven Indigenous Capital Partners
Prioritizing their community partnerships, Raven Indigenous Capital Partners is actioning UNDRIP by offering innovative investment opportunities that support Indigenous groups.
Indigenous owned and operated, Raven Indigenous Capital Partners is empowering Indigenous entrepreneurs by securing and facilitating private and public capital investments. Acting as financial intermediary, their re-invested funds have lasting impacts within Indigenous communities and projects. They work one-on-one with businesses to get investment ready, call government to action, and broker beneficial relationships.
It’s their way of acting upon the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) — the international recognition of the unfair treatment of Indigenous groups and the establishment of a universal framework of rights and standards.
Specifically pertaining to Articles Three and Twenty-one, Raven is working to improve economic and social conditions of Indigenous Peoples on Turtle Island. Investing in Indigenous communities is an act of economic reconciliation, and their Indigenous Outcomes Fund is doing just that.
Pay-for-success projects
“Our innovative financial pathways create opportunities and relationships that might not otherwise be possible for Indigenous groups,” says Jeff Cyr, Raven’s Co-Founder and Managing Partner. “Money can act as medicine, and this is how Canadians can help.”
The Indigenous Outcomes Fund is the first of its kind. A vehicle to pool capital through private investors, it seeks to raise $50 million to invest in outcomes contracts (Indigenous programs/initiatives) that have incredibly high success rates and high impact. It puts money into the hands of Indigenous communities that know how to best address present issues — and the government acts as the re-purchaser of successful outcomes.
This Social finance tool leads to actionable community-driven priorities, paving new ways for Indigenous communities to gain economic independence and grow. It’s addressing systemic failures by presenting progressive tactics that breathe new life into existing structures. “This impactful fund already has serious momentum,” Jeff adds. “There’s financial returns to entice investors yes, but this endeavor is really about changing lives.”
Funding that’ll go far
By backing the largely untapped Indigenous economy, private investors boost actionable priorities like climate and health initiatives. For Raven, prioritizing their personal community relationships is the key to success — proving that social finance paves an effective pathway towards reconciliation.
We call on Canadians to reflect on how to participate in and effectively support the Indigenous economy. As Indigenous ways of knowing and being teach us, there is a place for everyone in this regenerative economy.
