Kalen is a social entrepreneur and co-founder of three successful social enterprises, as well as the President of Winnipeg’s Social Enterprise Centre, and a founding board member of the Social Entrepreneurship Enclave in Winnipeg’s North End.
Since 2018, Kalen has served as the Executive Director of Purpose Construction, a social enterprise that combines social housing development and rehabilitation with trades training and employment run by and for people underrepresented in the skilled trades. Purpose Construction completes over $2.5 million in affordable housing repair annually, as well as developing new-build single family affordable housing in the North End through the Purpose Homes project. Purpose Construction is run by and for people with barriers to entering the trades; recent immigrants and refugees, Indigenous people, women, people transitioning out of the justice system, members of the LGBTQ2+ community.
Prior to that, Kalen Taylor co-founded Aki Energy Inc., a nationally award-winning social enterprise that works with First Nations to build community owned renewable energy systems, training and employing 100% local installation labour. In Aki Energy’s first 5 years, they completed over $18 million dollars in renewable energy development in partnership with First Nations communities in Manitoba.
Kalen is a co-founder of Aki Foods, an Indigenous-owned social enterprise that works with First Nations to strengthen healthy local food systems. Through Aki Foods, Kalen led the development of the Meechim Farm, Canada’s largest remote First Nations community farming project. The Meechim Farm continues to raise over 1,000 pastured chickens annually, selling affordable meat and eggs to local community members, and farming produce and raising traditional medicines on 17 acres in Manitoba’s remote
North.
Kalen Taylor is a graduate of Oxford University’s Executive Social Finance Program, and took a lead role in developing Aki Energy’s $4.5 million dollar ‘Community Driven Outcomes Purchase,’ working with Raven Capital Partners to co-develop and deliver the first Indigenous community-led social outcomes purchase agreement in Canada. Kalen has an Executive Masters in Project Management from the Schulitz School of Business, and LEAN Green Belt certified through the Desaultes School of Management at the University of McGill, and is a graduate of Oxford University’s Executive Social Finance program.
