Dena Jo Squyres, like a typical 16 year-old girl, enjoys hanging out with her friends, shopping and playing softball. But Dena — a student at the Cherokee Nation’s Sequoyah High School in Oklahoma — can add entrepreneur, saver and spokeswoman to her list of after-school activities.

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Small individually owned enterprises have become an increasingly important economic base for Native communities. Yet, while efforts to promote entrepreneurship among low-income communities nationwide have grown dramatically over the past 20 years, only recently have Native communities begun to benefit from these programs and services.

CFED is committed to strengthening the supports for Native entrepreneurship across the country through research and innovation, policy, and field development. Primarily funded by the Northwest Area Foundation and the U.S. Department of Treasury CDFI Fund, this work is led by Kim Pate.