Earlier this month, Regional Development Australia Moreton Bay and Sunshine Coast (RDAMBSC) was thrilled to host an Indigenous Business Month (IBM) workshop and lunch, commemorating ten years of IBM and celebrating Indigenous business excellence in our region and beyond.
With this year’s IBM theme focusing on ‘Making our Mark’, this was an important opportunity to showcase the accomplishments of Indigenous businesses across the Moreton Bay-Sunshine Coast-Noosa corridor, while connecting local Indigenous businesses to discuss the major issues of significance to their growth and success.
The day commenced with a global cafe style workshop, discussing key issues for indigenous businesses. This was followed up by a ‘yarn-within-the-yarn’ session, where participants divided into 6 groups to discuss major issues of importance to them. This included cultural protocols, opportunities for young entrepreneurs, women in business, opportunities for innovation and technology in business, female entrepreneurship and ‘doing procurement better’.
The outcomes of these conversations were part of a bigger movement capturing First Nations-led voices over different events and across a number of years. The Many Voices Yarns started in IBM 2022 and you can follow these varied conversations online here https://www.buildingbetterbusinesses.com.au/many-voices/
The workshop was followed by a lunch session with a broader audience, with a talented lineup of speakers who spoke to the topic of indigenous business in a digital world. This discussion was started by our keynote speaker Nick Buenen, who was then joined by Kylie-Lee Bradford and Dr Sharlene Leroy-Dyer in a panel discussion facilitated by our awesome MC, Kerry Klimm of Flashblak.
The day was full of important insights into the world of Indigenous business, and provided a valuable opportunity for Indigenous business people across our region to connect, network and share their experiences and advice.
RDAMBSC CEO Jacki Steel explained the importance of commemorating Indigenous Business Month, and facilitating connections and support for Indigenous businesses and business people across Moreton Bay, Sunshine Coast, Noosa and beyond:
“We are incredibly proud for this to have been our first major event as RDA Moreton Bay and Sunshine Coast, celebrating indigenous businesses across our region and beyond, and bringing together our communities on this important occasion.”
“When we first put this theme together, it was based on some of my recent experiences seeing how access to digital skills and connectivity was proving to be a great equalizer for our First Nations businesses and communities. But what I loved about this event was where our speakers and our workshop participants took this conversation.
“Nick’s exploration of ‘connectivity’ as both First Nations man and as someone who has been in the IT sector for some time helped illustrate the different ways of doing and knowing that is fundamental to First Nations people and what we can all learn from this. Across all the speakers, we really felt the sense of responsibility and community that goes across every aspect of working and family life.
“This was also in the workshop session. While I set an initial structure to get the conversation going, the attendees took control in the yarns and discussed what was important to them and the solutions and changes they want to see happen.
“In the end, three hours wasn’t enough time and, you know what? That’s really important. It means there is more things for our First Nations businesses to say and more for us to hear. And I will be actively looking for more of these opportunities in the future.
We had some great feedback from attendees about what they liked and what they want to be better. We are taking this on board for future engagement and conversations.
RDAMBSC would like to extend our sincere thanks to our event partner City of Moreton Bay, as well as to our various supporters – including the Department of Small Business, Employment and Training (DESBT), AusIndustry and Telstra.
You can find out more about Indigenous Business month here: https://www.indigenousbusinessmonth.com.au/
