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Earlier this year, the Federal Government acknowledged there has been an “enormous failure” in attempts to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, especially when it comes to leadership opportunities.
The most recent Australian Human Rights Commission report on cultural diversity in Australian leadership across corporate, federal parliament, public service and university sectors confirmed this matter as it found that out of the 2490 people in leadership roles across all four sectors, only 0.4 per cent are Indigenous.
Yawuru/Bunuba women Adele and Cara Peek (pictured here) are seeking to address this discrepancy with a first-of-its-kind innovation hub in the Kimberley that is advocating for financial independence among First Nations people by becoming entrepreneurs.
Make It Happen HQ Innovation Hub and Think Tank aims to support indigenous businesses across industries and geographic locations, and help plan their version of success with their expertise and connecting them with specialised networks.
Touted as an endeavour “for First Peoples by First Peoples”, Make it Happen HQ runs a range of programs to accelerate learning, support and development of local Indigenous communities both online and through a physical space in Broome with supportive partners such as Deloitte, global law firm K&L Gates, early-stage venture capital firm Investible, Shop You, Jawun and US Esports partners, Atlanta Premier
“First Nations people are disproportionately locked out of today’s economic opportunities and workforce,” co-founder Adele Peek said. “First Nations entrepreneurship is an Aboriginal empowerment strategy. There’s a funnelling up and also a funnelling down to help youth find their place – it represents true self determination and can directly deliver on Closing the Gap.”
Figures from the Reserve Bank of Australia also showed that while First Nations businesses are growing at a rate of about four per cent a year, from a historically low base, and many First Nations entrepreneurs still face substantial barriers when it comes to establishing a successful business, including a lack of access to financial and social capital.
“Ultimately it’s about true self-determination and teaching financial independence,” Peek said. “By enabling Indigenous people to start their own businesses, we can effectively transition from unemployment to entrepreneurship and self-employment.
“Through mentorship and access to funding, there is the opportunity for remote communities to build, launch, and grow a global online presence, providing a platform to sell directly to customers,” Peek added.
Despite only making up 0.06 per cent of the two million businesses in Australian, research indicates that Indigenous businesses contribute a Social Return on Investment of $4.41 for every $1 invested, in part because Indigenous businesses are up to 100 times more likely to employ Indigenous Australians.
“First Nations people generally aren’t recognised as being the original entrepreneurs and don’t always understand the modern entrepreneurial journey, and they can’t rely on the bank of Mum and Dad to get started,” Peek said. “They are usually working full-time jobs to scrape the money together for their business idea and more likely than not they won’t have business role models. One of the first barriers is realising their own talent to begin with.
“A lot of people here don’t even have the internet at home,” Peek lamented. “That’s the geographical reality of where we are. We are also combatting other serious socio-economic difficulties such as low levels of education, violence and a lack of safety in the home.”
Make It Happen HQ Innovation Hub and Think Tank also seeks to expedite a critical path to success for Indigenous businesses and overcome the challenges of lack of quality and affordable business advisory services to indigenous entrepreneurs in the start-up and scale-up stages.
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