Greenland continues to undergo decolonization, the ultimate political ambition being a 'self-sustaining economy' and political independence from Denmark. Drawing on a recent survey in combination with ethnographic fieldwork, this paper explores the connection between political independence and entrepreneurial activities in Greenland. While entrepreneurs are increasingly expected to play a central role in fostering economic change, we are curious about what motivates them, and especially whether their motivations are related to the struggle for national independence. While entrepreneurship generally seems primarily motivated by a desire for personal autonomy, entrepreneurship in the context of an Indigenous island community seems driven by certain communal values, such as supporting the local community, cultural pride, family, and place. Our research supports the notion that entrepreneurship is motivated by non-pecuniary values, and we find entrepreneurship to result from a mesh of intertwined motivations. While we were unable to identify a direct link between the ambition for national autonomy and entrepreneurship, the paper contributes to the understanding of entrepreneurship as an instrument for decolonization drawing on a range of empirical cases and a multidisciplinary approach.

This ar cle contributes to policy learning in Greenland by linking entrepreneurship and innova on system theory to recent and former a empts at crea ng poli cal-economic indicators. The ar cle shows how working methods have developed within the Greenland government where evidence-based governance is becoming more commonly used. The main fi ndings indicate that the overall poli cal objec ve of crea ng a self-sustaining economy is not possible in the short run, but is a poli cally meaningful overall goal. Exis ng measurements and indicators have been important instruments in developing an understanding of the connectedness of elements in the innova on system. Measurements and indicators could s ll be developed further, especially by extending with more individual level data that can be analyzed within the context of ins tu onal level data. Also, the natural resource sectors need to be thought about in connec on to other industries and the competencies of the popula on in order to avoid a resource curse. This could very well be done in a cross-sec onal innova on policy, perhaps including an indicator for "self-sustainability," and combined with measuring the actual development in comparison with the set goals.