Strengthening our business environment & removing barriers to entrepreneurship
Why creating a better business environment matters.
An environment that enables business growth is important for creating sustainable economic growth and alleviating poverty.
While a burdensome and complex business regulatory environment is by no means the only cause or perpetuator of poverty on the Navajo Nation, improving the business environment is one way to retain the 65% of money that flows off of the reservation every year and to grow a more vibrant, Native-owned economy.
To make change, we are investing in our business environment.
Establishing a baseline.
Change Labs and economic evaluation firm, Causal Design, worked together to create a tool for understanding all the factors that one must consider when starting a new business on the Navajo Nation. Using a set of indicators established by the World Bank, we measured the ease of doing business on the Navajo Nation relative to 190 countries.
How do we improve?
Based on our study of the Navajo Nation business regulatory environment, Change Labs and Causal Design published recommendations for short and long-term initiatives and policy shifts that any entrepreneurship support organization can act on to improve the business environment for small business owners.
Ranking our ecosystem.
How easy is it to start, operate, and grow a business on the Navajo Nation compared to the US and other nations? The answer might surprise you. This two-page PDF illustrates how the Navajo Nation ranks globally.
Coalition building.
Change Labs, the Dineh (Navajo) Chamber of Commerce, and the ACES School have partnered to form the Navajo Entrepreneurship Coalition, which advocates for an improved business regulatory environment on the Navajo Nation.
Take action.
The Navajo Nation is one of the most difficult places on earth for an entrepreneur to procure land or a building for her business. In 2020 we launched a campaign to reclaim unused Federal buildings occupying Tuba City’s Main Street and repurpose them for local entrepreneurs.
Pandemic economics.
Change Labs and the Navajo Nation Division of Economic Development measured the impact of COVID-19 on the Navajo small business community. Read our results and watch a video series featuring Navajo entrepreneurs representing our most prominent industries.
Tax policy.
Change Labs and our partners at the Navajo Entrepreneurship Coalition have published an Executive Summary outlining the economic impact of Navajo Nation Legislation 0111-21 and 0112-21 on the small business community and the Navajo economy at large.
Explore the issue.
Registering a business on the Navajo Nation and getting certified as a Navajo-owned business appears straightforward. So why do so many Navajo business owners experience “bureaucratic headaches”? What effect does this have on motivating business registration on Navajo?
According to Change Labs and Causal Design’s research, the Navajo Nation ranks among the bottom 15% of countries around the globe when it comes to land access. How might we streamline the leasing process and decrease the burden on business owners?
The credit environment on the Navajo Nation is a conundrum. From a regulatory perspective, the Navajo Nation has 9 of the 12 protections for both lenders and borrowers that have been shown to facilitate lending in economies around the world. If the credit environment is strong, why are there so few examples of successful lending and business growth on Navajo?
The Navajo Nation is a hyper-entrepreneurial community. Yet, most of our micro businesses fail to grow and exist in a perpetual state of fragility. Similarly, businesses that do take the steps to “formalize” their business through registration are stifled by the lack of judicial support for Navajo businesses and the inability to expand their market due to lack of internet connectivity.
Partners & Collaborators
Causal Design partners with clients to provide rigorous independent program evaluation, expand cultures of evidence within organizations, and join them in efforts to relieve human suffering and end poverty. Causal Design brings niche expertise in using Growth Diagnostics to identify the most pressing barriers to economic growth, and then prescribe policy reforms aimed at addressing these issues. This powerful tool yields deeper, more actionable insights with more grounded, focused recommendations.
We offer our thanks to the following divisions and individuals for contributing their time and expertise to our research:
Navajo Nation Division of Economic Development
Shiprock Regional Business Development Office
Navajo Nation Office of the Vice President
Navajo Tribal Utility Authority
Navajo Nation Credit Services Department
Mr. Sean McCabe
Navajo Nation Division of Community Development
Navajo Business Regulatory
To'Nanee'Dizi Local Government
Navajo Nation Tax Commission
Navajo Nation Land Department
Ritoch & Powell
Southwest Colorado SBDC
Colorado Secretary of State’s Office
Montezuma County Assessor
Montezuma County GIS Manager
Mon-Do Title Company
Empire Electric Association
City of Cortez