Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander business excellence and leadership will be celebrated throughout October during the second annual Indigenous Business Month.
The theme of Indigenous Business Month in 2016 is ‘Celebrating Leadership’.
Indigenous Business Month is an initiative driven by the alumni of Melbourne Business School’s MURRA Indigenous Business Masterclass, who see business as a way of providing positive role models for young Indigenous Australians and improving quality of life in Indigenous communities.
As government and corporate Australia move towards a target of 3% of procurement from Indigenous businesses, programs such as MURRA, Indigenous Women in Business and Indigenous Business Month play a significant role in building a thriving Indigenous business sector.
Throughout Indigenous Business Month events highlighting Indigenous business achievement will be held in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Geelong and the Central Coast. These events will provide a platform to recognise achievements and also address challenges facing the Indigenous business sector.
“Indigenous entrepreneurs, both individually and collectively, are providing everyday acts of leadership, from working with clients, communities and consumers, to creating new market opportunities and income streams,” says Michelle Evans, MURRA Program Director AND Associate Professor of Leadership at Charles Sturt University.
“This October we celebrate all forms of leadership across the diverse Indigenous business sector in Australia, specifically, we will be promoting Indigenous entrepreneurs that engage with community; Indigenous entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence in their industry; and Indigenous entrepreneurs who are role models and ambassadors for their communities.”
Recent research suggests that raising Indigenous life expectancy, employment and income levels to those of the wider community would increase the country’s real GDP by 1%, the equivalent of $10 billion.
Since this increase in GDP is larger than the forecasted increase in the country’s total population, this would raise the national living standards for all Australians. Thus, Indigenous economic development is not just a concern for Indigenous communities – it is an Australia-wide economic issue.
“The inaugural Indigenous Business Month in 2016 was widely supported throughout the Indigenous and non-Indigenous business sector, in 2017 the initiative will seek to build on that momentum so we can continue to make Indigenous business growth a part of the national conversation,” says MURRA Co-Founder and Director of the Aboriginal Media, Communications and Events agency 33 Creative, Mayrah Sonter.
“We are looking forward to more robust discussion, sharing of ideas, and acknowledgment of the important and inspiring achievements that are being made across the Indigenous business sector.”
Indigenous Business Month runs from October 1 to October 31.
The initiative is supported by 33 Creative, Asia Pacific Social Impact Centre at MBS, Charles Sturt University, PWC, BP, and the City of Sydney.
For more information on Indigenous Business Month visit
- The Website indigenousbusinessmonth.com.au
- Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Indigenous-Business-Month/456478734535609
- Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/indigbizmnth)
For all media enquiries contact Jonathan Jeffrey on jonathan@33creative.com.au (02) 9516 3466.
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