On day four of the camp, the young entrepreneurs participate in an event called Youth Marketplace Day, where they are given the opportunity to run their own businesses. They are issued $10 in venture capital funds to purchase a wholesale inventory item and then resell the item on the Pascua Yaqui Reservation.
The camp ends with a Business Plan Showcase, where students present their business plans and are awarded venture capital from $25 to $100 for the most promising ideas.
Timeche said her goal of improving economic conditions on the Indian reservations blended well with the Native Nations Institute's mission to support the self-governance of Indian nations.
. "Only a few brave first-generation American Indian business owners realized that establishing a tribal member-owned business would create jobs and improve the standard of living while keeping dollars circulating on the reservation,” Timeche added. “I believe that exposing our Native youth to the world of entrepreneurship will help to expand the private sector and improve economic conditions on reservations in the future."
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