ONABEN — Native American Entrepreneurship Programs (Indianpreneurship)
ONABEN — A Native American Business Network
Free training & TA
Building Native entrepreneurs
ONABEN is a national Native-led 501(c)(3), founded in 1991 by four Oregon tribes, that builds individual and community wealth by helping Native and tribal-citizen entrepreneurs start and grow small businesses. It delivers culturally relevant entrepreneurial development and financial-literacy training (its Indianpreneurship curriculum), one-on-one technical assistance and business mentoring, and referrals/links to start-up financing and tribal economic-development efforts, served regardless of tribal affiliation. ONABEN is a training, technical-assistance, and connection program — it does not itself issue grants or loans, but it prepares Native entrepreneurs for capital and connects them to financing sources, and convenes the community through events such as its Trading at the River gathering.
- Funding type
- Program
- Level
- Private
- Amount range
- Free training & TA
- Realistic amount
- Participants gain training, mentoring, and financing referrals — not a cash award. The benef…
- Deadline
- Rolling — programs and cohorts run year-round
- Status
- active
- States
- Nationwide
- Payment model
- in-kind
Who qualifies
- Native American / Indigenous entrepreneurs and tribal-citizen-owned small businesses
- Served regardless of specific tribal affiliation
- Aspiring (idea-phase) and existing business owners are both served
- No industry restriction
How to apply
-
1
Connect with ONABEN
Reach out via onaben.org to access Indianpreneurship training, the curriculum/bookstore resources, and technical-assistance offerings, or to find a participating business service center.
~0.5 hrs
-
2
Enroll in training and technical assistance
Join the Indianpreneurship financial-literacy and business-development training and request one-on-one mentoring/technical assistance tailored to your business stage.
~4 hrs
-
3
Use referrals to financing
Apply ONABEN's referrals/links to start-up financing and tribal economic-development resources to pursue capital once you are loan-ready.
~2 hrs
ONABEN's leverage is its referral network into Native CDFIs and tribal economic-development capital — finish the Indianpreneurship financial-literacy track first so you arrive at those lenders loan-ready. Its roots and densest service footprint are in the Pacific Northwest, so out-of-region founders should ask up front which offerings (virtual training, curriculum, TA) are available to them.
Deadline & timing
ONABEN runs ongoing training, technical assistance, and events; engagement is continuous rather than on a grant deadline. Course schedules and event dates (e.g., Trading at the River) are posted on its site.
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Last reviewed 2026. GrantCompass is an independent funding-discovery tool and is not affiliated with any government agency. Always confirm details on the official program page.