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literacy and tailored one-on-one sessions. This
has helped her gain knowledge, develop her
social capital and build a business plan for her
art business. Thanks to a $50,000 grant from
Edmonton Community Foundation (ECF),
she and 25 other entrepreneurial women in
the arts have learned important money skills
and developed or scaled up their businesses.
The AHC enlists the expert tutelage
of professional accountants and business
counsellors like Kevin MacDonald and
Kirsha Campbell, whom Alazem says was
“the most valuable” to her. Now, Alazem has
registered her business, become a member of
Edmonton’s Chamber of Commerce and is
finalizing the last stages of her business plan.
She plans to sell her art, show at galleries
and eventually sell household decor and
clothing inspired by her art. But her biggest
goal, she says, is to open her own art school
here in Edmonton. Support from STEP
has helped her connect with art galleries,
art councils and even other established
Edmonton artists like Elsa Robinson.
“It’s not just looking for that business
knowledge, but other supports that lift them
up,” says Tulin Sadouzai, a Stakeholder
Engagement Facilitator at AHC. “It’s not one
barrier that they’re facing; it’s multifaceted
barriers and we work with them to address
and help alleviate many, if not all, of them
through capacity building and pathfinding to
relevant resources for the business ecosystem.”
Sadouzai says STEP was born out of a
previous program at AHC, which sought
to give market exposure to newcomer
entrepreneurs. But when reviewing the data
for this program, Sadouzai noticed something
concerning — women participants weren’t
registering their businesses. Through follow-
ups, the AHC Entrepreneurship program
team found that many still felt they needed
skills like business financial literacy to take
their businesses to the next level.
“That is how we applied for STEP,”
Sadouzai says.
When asked about the support received
from ECF, Sadouzai says it matters “a lot.”
Since most of AHC’s operational funding
comes from Immigration, Refugees and
Citizenship Canada (IRCC), their funding
is usually limited to providing services
to permanent residents and refugees, not
Canadian citizens.
“If [Alazem] gets her Canadian
nationality, we’d just be her friends then. We
wouldn’t be able to serve her. The funding
from ECF gave us this much-needed flexibility
that we can outreach to all Edmontonians,”
Sadouzai says.
Alazem’s story is just one of the many
clients AHC serves, mostly newcomers. Some
may become Canadian citizens, and some
may stay as permanent residents for some
time, but all of them are community members
who rely on AHC’s support.
Alazem says, “The nice thing is, here, if
you ask for support, you will find it.”
“IT’S NOT ONE BARRIER THAT THEY’RE
FACING; IT’S MULTIFACETED BARRIERS
AND WE WORK WITH THEM TO ADDRESS
AND HELP ALLEVIATE MANY, IF NOT ALL, OF
THEM THROUGH CAPACITY BUILDING AND
PATHFINDING TO RELEVANT RESOURCES
FOR THE BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM.”
– TULIN SADOUZAI
Areej Alazem