Virtual Reality in Indigenous Communities

There is tech accessibility inequality in Indigenous communities.

The Current Situation:

The Virtual Reality industry is experiencing rapid growth, with a predicted market size of $30 billion by 2025. This is due to the increasing demand for immersive experiences. 

Virtual Reality use will soon be a normal piece of technology in education, wellness and community healing. Virtual reality is commonly looked at for gaming & recreation however there are far more uses on the horizon. 

The following are the fastest growing sectors for VR:

• Gaming and Entertainment: The gaming and entertainment industry is one of the largest markets for virtual reality, with a growing demand for immersive experiences and interactive games. The target market for VR gaming includes avid gamers, casual gamers, and families looking for a unique gaming experience.
• Education and Training: Virtual reality has great potential for use in education and training, allowing learners to experience immersive simulations that mimic real-world situations. The target market for VR education and training includes schools, universities, and businesses that offer employee training programs. 
• Healthcare: Virtual reality has applications in healthcare, including therapy, pain management, and medical training. The target market for VR healthcare includes hospitals, clinics, and rehabilitation centers. 

The Problem:

Among First Nations people in Canada, the overall median income was $23,600 according to the Government of Canada statistics. 

Schools on reserves are federally funded and receive 30% less funding per student then provincially funded schools typically located within miles of reserve schools.

The majority of social programs on reserves such as shelters, rehabilitation centers, education & training and family programs also receive less funding.

The average cost of a Virtual Reality headset is $750-$1,400. This does not include shipping, software or any accessories. VR application ranges between $10-$60 per application. 

This creates a huge issue with tech accessibility. 

In today's social climate access and use of tech is becoming a necessity not a luxury and vulnerable Indigenous communities are going to be affected.

Growing up in Akwesasne, ON a Mohawk reservation I have first hand knowledge and experience of the many daily inequalities we have compared to neighboring communities. 

When the first pandemic wave hit Canada and we were all placed on lockdown my partner and I noticed a shift in the community. Suddenly we were all forced inside for weeks at a time and a mental, educational and community decline was noticeable. My partner and I come from technology backgrounds and education and knew tech could help. We began renting out our own two Oculus Meta Quest headsets for people to use for recreation, family entertainment, exercise and feeling connected to their world.

The Solution:

Poptronic rents Virtual Reality headsets for personal use, community events, schools, social programs and business events in our community. The solution to getting tech hardware in the hands of people who already experience tech and income inequalities. At Poptronic we rent our VR headsets fully loaded with fun family games, health & wellness apps and we can incorporate learning applications for any topic at a fraction of the cost of buying. By renting we are creating tech accessibility, offering a sustainable solution to reduce e-waste and are giving our Indigenous community's right to self-determination. 

How it Works:

We operate online and in-person in Akwesasne, ON. We operate B2C, B2B and in the near future B2G. 

• B2C: A customer can book online or in-person by selecting their VR device, period of rental from 2-days to 6 months, pay online and either pick their device up in-person or have it delivered with instructions and live help.
• B2B/B2G: businesses, schools or social programs reach out via our website, select one of our packages ranging from different number of headsets, uses, duration and help required, and what applications needed installed. We review the needs of the organization and suggest which package is most useful and we come and do the set-up and tutorial if needed.

We see this problem across Canada and believe the solution can be scaled and operated across the country. 

We are currently renting to families and businesses, however our focus in obtaining funding is to serve our education sector and social programs.  

We have always placed an importance on creating community and increasing tech awareness and have a passion for educating. Our target population is that of the most vulnerable community members; our children and vulnerable adults who utilize social programs.  

In our education system, there is the issue of lack of funding compared to other communities surrounding us. Our schools do not have the capacity to purchase a fleet of VR headsets and applications for students to access for learning. Renting is a viable option to ensure our children are experiencing new technology and have the same access as other children to learning. The lack of funding is not the only barrier as well, since the pandemic we all seen the school systems and teachers struggle and we do not expect them to take on more work. Poptronic handles everything from tailoring a learning curriculum that is relevant to their studies such as an immersive walk with the dinosaurs, an exciting visit to past historical events or witnessing the pyramids at their fingertips. We want and need our children to be exposed to technology so they are not at a disadvantage when they progress through their education. In our Indigenous communities due to the income disparities the majority of children are not exposed to technology such as VR and the opportunity to spark an interest in VR and AI is lost. We need to engage  children- the future leaders and give them opportunities they may not receive otherwise due to economical barriers.

In social programs we hope to get ahead of the rising health & wellness in VR trend by being able to offer VR headsets to our elders in old age homes to go beyond their physical capabilities and explore the world again, our family members in shelters to spend time with their children in a way everyone enjoys, our young up and coming athletes can hone their skills with our VR sports training applications, healthcare can utilize VR for yoga, meditation, exercise, virtual counseling, exposure therapy for phobias and so much more. 

With Virtual Reality the possibilities are quite literally limitless.  

The target population is our community of Akwesasne where we are centrally located on the Ontario portion. Akwesasne is the Mohawk reservation located in Ontario, Quebec and New York State. 

We are community driven & focused; this is our passion. Offering virtual reality goes beyond ‘running a business’, this is about investing and engaging with our community by actively participating, collaborating and contributing. We are passionate about fostering and creating awareness about the benefits and excitement virtual reality can bring to an individual and to the community.   

We are collaborating with the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne through their Economic Development team who help us in any way they can. The MCA Economic Development team is always sharing community events, projects or opportunities that we can be a part of, and we consider them a valuable resource. The Akwesasne Career & Employment Support Services has also been a great resource for when we need employees from the community, at ACESS they can receive on-going training to ensure they are successful. We want to hire a part-time student employee this summer and ACESS will be matching us with a student in the community who has similar education goals to the job we are offering 

We can assess if we are meeting our communities needs by:  

• Community Feedback: Regularly gathering feedback from our community members to provide valuable insights into their experiences with our service and rentals. We can collect feedback through surveys, online reviews, or direct interactions. Asking users about their satisfaction with the virtual reality experiences, the quality of the equipment, the level of customer service, and if their needs and expectations were met. This feedback can help you identify areas of improvement and ensure that your service aligns with community needs.  
• Repeat Business and Referrals: If users are returning for repeat rentals/service or referring us to service to others, it is a good indication that we are meeting their needs.   
• Booking and Utilization Rates: Monitoring our booking and utilization rates can also provide insights into the demand of our service and rentals.   
• Community Engagement: Engaging with the community through events, partnerships, and collaborations can also provide feedback on the relevance and impact we are making.   
• Market Research: Conducting market research to understand the virtual reality landscape in our community can also help you assess if we are meeting community needs.   

I was raised in this community, attended our schools as a child and left to pursue my Bachelor of Business Management and my Master of Information Technology. I returned after my education and began working for the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal office, the Mohawks of Akwesasne Council and piloted an adult tech learning institute in the neighboring town of Cornwall, ON with my co-founder Kelly. With my combined experience working directly with our government and various social programs I have a deep understanding of our communities' barriers, strengths and opportunities. 

With our strong involvement in our community and the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne we are able to engage with our community leaders who can provide us with support by way of market information, access to program representatives for collaboration and mentorship. It is important to us that we have this good relationship with our leaders so ensure our solution is meaningful to our communities agenda.

The following are specific results that we expect to find that will tell us that Poptronic has been successful in our community:  

• High Customer Satisfaction: Satisfied customers are more likely to provide positive feedback, leave favorable reviews, and recommend your virtual reality rental service to others.  
• Repeat Business & Referrals from community members and community program users . Seeing our services and VR being used frequently in schools, old age homes, hospitals, homecare, group homes, shelters, birthday parties, community events and personal use will be a huge success for our community and Poptronic.  
• Positive Community Engagement- the community is more interested in technology, virtual reality and exploring how tech can improve and enrich their lives and community. We would also love to see community members of all ages felt more comfortable and familiar with using virtual reality and being excited about tech. 

By being in our community with our target market we are able to easily communicate with not only our leaders but our fellow community members as well and that is important to us. Us being present at community events, tribal meetings, social events and just showing our face around our community we are able to easily communicate and share ideas.

As we are now in our pilot stage we are equipped to operate, have created and refined our systems (website, delivery, software, retail space etc.) However, to move to the next step in executing our plan and reaching our goals we are facing a few barriers.

At this time Poptronic is self-funded and bootstrapping meaning we are not receiving any funding at this time and have to re-invest every dollar we make. This is making it difficult and taking longer to achieve our goals. Currently, we have 5 VR headsets that we can rent, 3 display monitors, 3 monitor display stands and one portable speaker. To initiate our next step of servicing schools and social programs we need to purchase a fleet of 20 VR headsets to adequately provide services to classrooms, old aged homes etc. More headsets means we could also take on more clients at a time. 

Another barrier is obtaining our tech hardware at a cheaper cost. We have had meetings with META for pricing options however until we can purchase larger volumes we do not qualify for lower prices. Poptronic would love to find partnerships with suppliers or programs who can help us obtain our equipment needs.

We would like to find potential partnerships with shipping & delivery service providers to ensure flexibility with our customers and to keep our overhead as low as possible.

Poptronic would also love to create more brand awareness and expand our reach to become more recognized as a leader in our field. We have been wanting to create a marketable brand and campaign to push to the public.

I, Chatnie Herne am an enrolled member and resident of the Akwesasne Mohawk community my project is based in.

Poptronic’s solution to our challenge is unique and innovative in many ways.  

• The use of VR technology to enhance education is relatively new and unexplored, especially in Indigenous communities. By offering VR headsets for rent, we are providing an innovative solution that not only engages and inspires students but also promotes an innovative approach to learning. 
• Poptronic's solution of providing affordable access to VR is a significant improvement over more traditional approaches to increasing education in these areas. Our solution ensures that we are providing the necessary tools to our community that has historically been underserved and underrepresented in tech education. 
• By offering rental options rather than outright purchasing expensive VR headsets, we are making technology accessible to communities that may not have the financial resources to invest in such expensive equipment. This solution ensures that even communities with limited budgets can access the latest technology and incorporate it into their educational programs.  

Our solution has the potential to catalyze broader positive impacts for others in this space through: 

• Promote Collaboration, our innovative approach could encourage further collaboration from other organizations or companies in the tech industry to develop more Indigenous targeted solutions.
• Investment: Our solution could attract more investment in the tech industry to support initiatives in Indigenous communities. Other companies may see the potential impact of this approach and be more likely to invest in similar initiatives.
• Raise Awareness: Our project could raise awareness about the importance of investing in tech education in Indigenous communities. This awareness could lead to more discussion and action towards addressing barriers that communities like mine face in accessing tech.
• Spark Innovation: Our project could inspire other organizations to think innovatively about how to use emerging technologies like VR to support educational initiatives.

Our solution of providing VR rentals to increase education in tech and wellness in our community through VR has the potential to change the market by increasing demand for VR technology, promoting community-driven solutions, contributing to the growth of the EdTech market, and increasing diversity in the tech industry. 

In the next year: 

• We will have at least 20 headsets to ensure every child in the classroom is participating simultaneously in the same immersive experience.
• We will be equipped with appropriate VR applications to address our Elder's criteria: addressing mental & physical health & wellbeing, this could be physical exercise games, applications that connect them with other people around the world to "visit" and talk to, learning tutorials, VR travel and re-visiting history or the future.
• We will be equipped with appropriate VR and applications to address healthcare topics such as yoga, guided meditation, VR counselling sessions, and exposure therapy applications. This will put us in healthcare programs such as hospice, hospitals, clinics, shelters, rehabs and our diabetes center.
• Our current physical space which we call our "Studio" will be fitted to safely allow customers to come in an try VR by the hour for recreation by themselves or with friends. This will include more robust, stationary VR headsets designed for gaming.
• Build partnerships with other tech companies and organizations that share our values and goals, with the aim of collaborating on projects and initiatives that supports our solution. 
• Measure & report on community impact, we will develop a system for measuring and reporting with the aim of demonstrating the effectiveness of our solution. This will involve collecting community data though surveys, feedback, frequency of repeat customers. 

In the next 5 years:

• Increase the scale, we will have over 100 headsets to ensure we can offer multiple schools, people, businesses and social programs our services simultaneously.
• Increase the scope, we will grow our team from 2 to 10+, these roles will include customer service, marketing, software development, web development and sales. 
• Increase physical locations near Toronto and Montreal.
• Increase nationally, our VR rental services across Canada to further create tech accessibility for more communities.
• Expand the scope of VR experiences, we will work with various Indigenous community organizations and educational institutions to develop our own VR applications that are Indigenous culture specific that can be used across Canada for educational experiences.
• Increase diversity & inclusion, we will develop VR applications that can be used to teach and train companies, organizations and educational institutions about our culture, practices and ceremonies.
• Empower our marginalized communities, we can provide access to VR tech, educational applications and resources. This can involve providing training & support and building partnerships with other organizations who work with vulnerable communities.
• Develop a sustainability strategy to ensure our services are environmentally sustainable, socially responsible, and economically viable in the long term.
• Advocate for policy change in Indigenous communities, we can advocate for policy change at the local & national level. This can involve working with policymakers to develop policies that promote access to VR in education, healthcare, and tech accessibility while advocating for increased funding for Indigenous communities. 
• We will be one of the leaders in VR education and rentals.

These are a few metrics & key indicators:

• Number of VR rentals, rack the number of VR headset rentals to schools & social programs in our community. This can give an indication of how many people are being reached and impacted by our services. 
• Feedback and reviews, we collect feedback & reviews from the community to understand how our solution is being received and whether they are meeting the needs of our community. This can be done through surveys, interviews, or focus groups. 
• Impact on education & wellness, we will track the impact in academic performance, mental health, and well-being. This can be done through pre- and post-program assessments, academic performance data, or facilitator reviews. 
• Partnerships & collaborations, we will track the number of partnerships/collaborations with other organizations, and the outcomes and impact of those collaborations.
• Quality Education target 4.4, proportion of youth and adults with information and communications technology (ICT) skills, by type of skill. We can track the number of students reached, types of skills developed, quality of learning experiences and follow-up assessments.
• Eliminating gender disparities in education... Target 4.5. The indicators we can collect could be the gender breakdown of students, the gender breakdown of participants and follow-up assessments.
• Gender Equality target 5.5, Indicators that we are reaching this impact is tracking the gender breakdown of our team and continue to be dedicated to gender equality in our organization, career progression tracking to ensure women could advance, and team (employee) feedback to gain insight on our work culture and best practices. 
• Climate action target 13.3, Poptronic attempts to reduce e-waste in our landfills and promote education in the circular economy. We plan to create our own blockchain dashboards which users can see the carbon footprint of our devices. We also educate and raise awareness by teaching our customers about our pledge to the circular economy, we have partnerships with the Ellen Macarthur foundation and the CIO Strategy Council which can both provide feedback on our efforts. 

Our theory of change is based on the premise that by providing access to VR in schools, social programs and to individuals in our community, it can increase access to tech for education, wellness and recreation, leading to improved well-being and better opportunities for our communities. 

• Our primary activity is to rent VR headsets to schools, social programs and individuals in the community. We will also be able to offer training sessions for educators and facilitators to teach them how to integrate VR technology into their curriculum and programs. 
• Our outputs are the number of VR headsets rented and the number of rentals we complete. We will also track the number of individuals who use the headsets and the length of rental. 
• Our outcomes are an increased knowledge and interest in VR technology and increased wellness for individuals utilizing our services through a social program or on their own. This, in turn, can lead to improved educational opportunities, as well as increased well-being and quality of life. We will measure these outcomes by tracking engagement in schools, use in community programs, number of families and individuals renting from us and monitoring our mentioned success indicators. 
• The evidence to support the links between our activities, outputs, and outcomes. Third-party research has shown that VR technology can enhance educational experiences and improve academic performance, particularly in STEM subjects. Studies have also demonstrated the potential of VR technology to reduce stress and anxiety levels and improve overall well-being. Our main evidence-based indicator will be the evaluations we gather and feedback from our target population. 

Our core technology is virtual reality headsets. The VR headsets are equipped with software and applications that are specifically designed to match the needs of the user. The software can simulate various scenarios that allow users to experience immersive learning, health and recreation sessions, which makes learning processes and health more engaging and effective. 

VR technology is especially useful for schools and social programs in Indigenous communities that may not have access to tech in education due to high costs. By using VR, we can provide an innovative and accessible way for these communities to learn and benefit from VR. 

Our solution is scalable and can be used in a variety of settings beyond schools and social programs, such as corporate training or medical training. VR technology has the potential to revolutionize the way people learn and train in various industries and will have a huge impact on the future of learning. 

We recognize the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusivity in all aspects of our work.  

Our leadership team is diverse and inclusive, myself being a female co-founder and my fellow co-founder being a woman in tech we believe that diversity fosters creativity and innovation. It has always been important to me as a female Indigenous co-founder to not only had to diversity in the typically male dominated tech industry, but to add visual representation. Our communities need to see people from backgrounds like their own in these positions. 

In addition to our commitment to diversity within our team, we also prioritize diversity and inclusivity in our work within our communities. We respect the unique culture and social contexts of our community, and we need to collaborate with other partners to ensure that solutions are culturally relevant and appropriate. 

Key Resources: 

• Our team, the co-founders, employees, and contractors our are human resources that are essential in providing skills, experience, expertise and will develop, market and deliver our product & services. 
• Our VR headsets, accessories, monitors, software & hardware etc., are crucial technology resources that we need to deliver our core products and services. 
• Our revenue streams, self-funding and any future investment capital is the financial resource we receive that is necessary to fund our growth and expansion. 
• Our partnerships resources with schools, social programs, customers and other organizations are important to help us reach and impact our target audience. 

Key Activities 

• Procuring state of the art VR headsets and software. 
• Developing & maintaining partnerships with our schools and social programs in our community and identifying their needs. 
• Curating & delivering VR content specific to the client's needs. 
• Providing technical support & troubleshooting to ensure our service runs smoothly. 
• Engaging with our community & supporters to receive feedback to ensure the needs of our target is achieving impact goals. 
• Developing marketing, outreach and branding strategies to improve our reach.  

Partners & Key Stakeholders 

• Schools & educational institutions. 
• Community social programs  
• Organizations working with Indigenous communities. 
• VR manufacturers. 
• Hardware & software providers. 
• Funding & investment organizations. 
• NGOs working with EdTech initiatives & or Indigenous education in tech. 

Cost Structure 

• Hardware costs $750-$1,400 per headset, maintenance 10%, accessories such as controllers & hand straps. Monitors, monitor stands and speakers. 
• Software development, in the future we would hire developers to create our own VR experiences reflective of our community cultural/educational needs. 
• Employee salaries, as of now the co-founders do not receive a salary, and future employees such as a client/sales representative and developer will receive a salary. 
• Marketing & Advertising. 
• Overhead costs, our rent, insurance, utilities & administrative costs. 

Type of Intervention 

Our type of intervention is technological and educational intervention. Our technological intervention involves our VR hardware, software & hardware. Our educational intervention is the designing, developing and offering of educational material via the VR. 

Channels 

• Our website & online platform is our key channel for marketing, reaching out to customers, showcasing our VR and displaying our products & services. 
• Marketing & advertisement via targeted marketing on social media, collaborations with organizations, community events and online advertising. 
• Our partnerships within the community will help with promoting our products & services. Partnering with organizations who have similar goals will extend our reach. 
• Community events, we plan to participate in all relevant community events & tech events to raise awareness about our mission. 

Surplus 

Currently, we reinvest our surplus into the business. This surplus fund the acquisition of more hardware devices, expand operations, contractors and into marketing. In 5 years, our surplus will be reinvested into research & development. 

Segments 

Our segments are educational institutions, healthcare providers, corporate training departments, non-profit organizations and individual customers. These different groups are paying us for our solutions. 

Value Proposition 

Our value proposition centers around our innovative solution for addressing a tech accessibility issue within our community. We are enhancing educational experiences and well-being of our community members by offering state of the art VR experiences.  

We are measuring the value proposition with various metrics such as user satisfaction rates, engagement rates, customer retention, web analytics and revenue growth. We are retrieving these metrics from pre & post service feedback, surveys, conversion rates, and financial reports. 

Our basic revenue model comes from renting each VR device or VR studio session for a certain price and timeframe. 

Our initial investment will be used to purchase equipment & software and pay for the VR studio overhead in Akwesasne. 

The customer and/or organization pays for shipping and the rental starts on the day the device(s) are received. If the device is late in arriving, it only starts on that date. We anticipate the revenue to come primarily from the VR packages/solutions and VR studio bookings. Our pricing model will be based on the duration of the rental, with discounts offered for longer rental periods. We project a return on investment within the first year of initial investment.  

We have 3 packages we offer organizations ranging from $199-$699 which is 5 VR headsets to 20 headsets. An individual headset rental is $69.99 average. 

VR device rentals: 

Average price of rental: $ 329  

Number of customers will you serve in a week: 3          

Amount of business you will do in a week: $ 987  

Number of weeks store is open this year: 30 

Amount of business in a year : $ 29,610  

In-store VR studio booking: 
 
Average price of items: $ 25.00 

Number of customers will you serve in a day?: 5 

Amount of business you will do in a day: $ 125.00 

Number of days store is open this year: 150 

Amount of business in a year : $ 18,750 

We also have additional add-ons: 

• Content Creation & Curation: $75-$100 / hour 
• Branding (VR Headset branding and other marketing materials): $50-$75/hour + materials 
• Educational Curriculum Development: $100-$150 / hour 
• Hosting (Hired assistants to help customers on site): Travel/accommodations & hourly fee of $50-$75. 

We also plan apply for EdTech grants, seek investments, fundraise and seek loans to fund our solution.

We have only recently moved from our prototype phase into our testing phase and are ready to seek investments at this time. We have received one grant for $11,000 for small businesses in our area. We have not taken any business or personal loans at this time or received any other investments, we are self-funding.

We have had a small but steady stream of customers ranging from individuals renting for their personal use, athletes for VR training and families booking VR studio time for their children. We have also had and corporations, the corporate use has been for training sessions. We recently had a marketing firm use a 3-headset package that was used in a McDonalds Canada pop-up event in Toronto to market their new summer beverages. We have also recently filled 3 quotes for other corporations looking for VR for corporate training. At this time with our self-funding and small revenue stream we are able to cover our overhead and have to re-invest every dollar into acquiring more VR headsets, which is slow to build our desired fleet of 20-VR headsets.

Our goal is to build partnerships with schools & social programs this year and expand our reach to have the highest impact.