At our recent webinar, “Indigenous Access to Finance: Lessons from Canada and Pathways for Emerging Markets,” co-hosted with the Emerging Markets Investors Alliance (EMIA) and Momentus Global, speakers explored how Indigenous-led financial systems can expand First Nations’ access to capital while strengthening self-determination and community resilience.

Tiffany Sack (First Nations Financial Management Board - FMB) grounded the discussion in the history of Indigenous economies, emphasizing systems rooted in collective stewardship, kinship, responsibility to land, and future generations. She traced how colonial policies disrupted these economies and continue to limit access to finance today, including through restrictions on using reserve lands as collateral. Her remarks underscored a central theme of the webinar: Indigenous-led finance is not only about filling a capital gap, but about restoring financial systems designed around Indigenous governance and economic priorities to foster prosperity on Indigenous terms.

With this context, Jody Anderson (First Nations Finance Authority - FNFA) outlined how specialized Indigenous-led institutions can unlock affordable capital at scale. The FNFA’s governance reflects this principle in practice, with a board comprised of Chiefs and Councillors from First Nations member communities. Its model combines two lending programs: a short-term commercial paper program for interim financing and a long-term pooled borrowing model through debentures and bonds. Since launching its commercial paper program at just under $200 million in 2021, FNFA now rolls over more than $900 million every 28 days, lending at approximately 1.05% under bank prime. Through its long-term debt program, FNFA has issued 15 debentures and more than $4.35 billion through capital markets, supported by AA stable issuer ratings from S&P, Moody’s, and DBRS. Anderson also noted that FNFA bonds are consistently oversubscribed, with growing interest from domestic and international investors, and that each issuance is tied to at least one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

The emerging markets fireside chat, moderated by Diana Smallridge (Momentus Global), invited Javier Díaz Fajardo (Former Bancoldex) and Maria Netto (Institute for Climate and Society) to consider what lessons from Canada’s model could mean for Colombia, Brazil, and other contexts. Their reflections emphasized that replicating and adapting this approach will require more than financing alone; it will require patient capital, technical assistance, legal recognition, public and philanthropic risk-sharing, and long-term institutional capacity. Together, their discussion highlighted the potential of Indigenous-led financial mechanisms to move beyond one-off capital access toward more durable and sustainable systems of Indigenous financial inclusion, economic development, and empowerment.

Further Resources: 

• First Nations Financial Management Board
• First Nations Finance Authority
• Momentus Global Pre-Scoping Report: Addressing Gaps in Indigenous Access to Finance (October 16, 2023 - Submitted to First Nations Financial Management Board)