Dawn Madahbee Leach has served as the general manager of the Waubetek Business Development Corporation, an Aboriginal financial institution that provides financing and business services to 27 First Nations across northeastern Ontario, since 1988.
A member of the Aundeck Omni Kaning First Nation on Manitoulin Island, Dawn has a degree in Political Science with a minor in Law from Laurentian University and is a graduate of the University of Waterloo Economic Development Program. She also serves as chair of the National Indigenous Economic Development Board.
Since its establishment, Waubetek has invested more than $100 million in some 3,500 Indigenous enterprises with a business success rate of 94 per cent, disproving the general belief that Indigenous people are a poor risk financially.
Waubetek has supported many Indigenous entrepreneurs – from Kathryn Corbiere’s artistic welding business on Manioutlin Island to trucking businesses serving the resource sector. A regional fisheries strategy it authored in 2012 led to funding to provide aquaculture advisory services in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. As a result of its work, First Nations are taking a lead in the development of the freshwater aquaculture industry.
Waubetek works closely with economic development officers serving First Nation communities across northeastern Ontario, bringing them together periodically for professional development, sharing best practices and updating them on regional economic strategies.
In this interview, Dawn urges First Nation communities to take charge of their own fate and not wait for external governments to take action. “There’s a lot we can do ourselves,” she contends.
Waubetek is currently working toward the establishment of Centres of Excellence for Indigenous Aquaculture and Mineral Development and is collaborating on the development of a National Indigenous Economic Strategy.