Jeff Cyr

Jeff Cyr is a Métis entrepreneur, negotiator, and impact investor focused on advancing economic citizenship for Indigenous communities historically excluded from mainstream capital markets. With more than 25 years of experience providing strategic leadership for Indigenous for-profit companies, nonprofit organizations, and governments at senior levels, Cyr has contributed to the development of Indigenous social finance in Canada. He has held roles as a negotiator for Indigenous Nations, an advisor within the federal government, and in the nonprofit sector, deepening his understanding of the systemic barriers facing Indigenous entrepreneurs.

Before establishing Raven Indigenous Capital Partners, Cyr served as executive director of the National Association of Indigenous Friendship Centres and spent over a decade in leadership roles within the Government of Canada. During his tenure at the National Association of Indigenous Friendship Centres, Cyr engaged with Indigenous entrepreneurs to identify barriers to growth, leading to the creation of the Indigenous Innovation Summit, a conference that brought together stakeholders to discuss social innovation, highlight Indigenous projects, and explore opportunities in social finance. These efforts underscored the need for a dedicated Indigenous financial intermediary.

Cyr, along with Paul Lacerte and Stephen Nairne, co-founded Raven Indigenous Capital Partners to invest in Indigenous enterprises in Canada and the United States, establishing North America's only Indigenous-led and owned impact investment firm. Raven closed an over-subscribed $100 million Raven Indigenous Impact Fund II, surpassing its initial target and building on the earlier $25 million Raven Indigenous Impact Fund I. Cyr's initiatives, including a fund management firm, an R&D incubator for social innovation labs, and an educational arm rooted in Indigenous epistemologies, aim to reconfigure mainstream economic systems to meaningfully include Indigenous enterprises in mainstream marketplaces.

Cyr pioneered the community-driven outcomes contract, a pay-for-success social finance model, and the Indigenous Solutions Lab process, which earned him an Ashoka Fellowship. His work in outcomes finance reflects a commitment to centering system-level outcomes for communities, aligning with Indigenous worldviews that prioritize community well-being and long-term relationships. Cyr serves as co-founder of Raven Capital, founder and managing partner of Raven Indigenous Outcomes, and president and CEO of the Raven Indigenous Impact Foundation.

Cyr has also served as vice president of the Indigenous Innovation Initiative at Grand Challenges Canada, a sessional lecturer at Carleton University in public policy, and a guest lecturer at Oxford University in social finance. He is the former chair of the Institute Advisory Board for Indigenous Peoples' Health at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Asian Languages and Politics and a Master of Arts with distinction in Political Studies/International Relations from the University of Manitoba. Cyr is a frequent speaker at forums on impact investing and economic reconciliation, drawing on his experience in Indigenous-led capital and policy development.