Emma Garlett: It’s smart business to engage with Indigenous entrepreneurs

Like a lot of Indigenous people, I grew up poor in an overcrowded house.

When I say poor, I mean poor. Think below what the old Newstart Allowance on Centrelink would give you. For a family of six.

We lived on Black and Gold brand products from the bottom shelf and powdered milk for our Nescafe coffees.

The struggle was real but here is the thing — at the time I didn’t realise how little my family had and how much my parents struggled. We lived pay cheque to pay cheque.

It was only until I was shipped off on a scholarship to boarding school in Perth at the ripe age of 13 that I realised the extreme wealth inequality in Australia.

Yes, we have a middle class but the wealth gap for Indigenous people living in poverty compared to the middle class is disarming. Then to stretch this further to see the inequality with the upper echelons of our society is plain embarrassing.

I recall during my first year at boarding school my friend’s dad drove us around in his Porsche. I had never seen a Porsche before (I didn’t even know what they were) but here I was riding up and down Marine Parade in Cottesloe in one. It was an extreme culture shock for me as a young Indigenous girl from the bush.

I saw people pay more for a holiday for two weeks than what rent in Geraldton would cost for a year.

You’d be doing yourself a favour if you engaged Indigenous businesses.

The FIFO families and western suburbs boys were paying more in tax per year that what my family earnt over five years. I know my experience is shared with many other Indigenous families across our State.

So, how do we make sure we include Indigenous people in the economic growth and wealth building in our country?

We develop government policy and include it in business strategy. And that is what is happening. The State Government has an Aboriginal Procurement Policy and many private companies have Indigenous spend targets in their Reconciliation Action Plans.

It is interesting as the concept of business is intriguing. Most people start a business to take a punt at making their millions while others create a novel invention they have patented and commercialised for the masses.

Then there are individuals who participate in the buy and sell market to give back to society in some way, shape or form. Somewhat of a decentralised economy.

The latter is the case for the growing and emerging Indigenous business sector which is being supported by both government and private companies.

The notion of Indigenous people trading is no new concept, yet there were times when it seemed we were locked out of the ability to participate in the economy. Now, we are getting back on our feet and making deals on the Terrace.

Over the past 12 years there has been a 74 per cent increase in businesses in the Indigenous business sector.

It is not hard to find successful, productive, and holistic Indigenous businesses. Across Australia about 16,000 businesses are Indigenous owned, and this number is projected to grow by 2200 by 2026.

Indigenous businesses contribute at least $4.8 billion to the Australian economy which is more than the beer industry.

And for every $1 spent with Indigenous businesses you will receive a social return and public benefit through employing Indigenous people.

I saw the sheer scale and breadth of the Indigenous business sector last week at the annual Indigenous Emerging Business Forum at Crown Towers. The event had around 1200 people in attendance. People flew from across the country to attend.

If you can think of a product or service, it was there — from labour hire to medical devices to arts and crafts. The scope of Indigenous businesses is far reaching.

Business leaders such as Kooya Fleet chief executive Sharna Collard, Indigenous Emerging Business Forum Aboriginal Corporation chief executive John O’Driscoll, Safe Spear founder and director Liza Fraser-Gooda and Oaks Civil Construction founder Jarrad Oakley Nicholls, pictured, show Indigenous owned businesses have a lot to offer.

The energy of the event was contagious, and it was accompanied by large corporate appetite.

Some of the highlights included Uncle Barry McGuire welcoming us to country, and Jessica Mauboy delivering a splendid performance.

I had the pleasure of speaking at the event on behalf of Seven West Media where I shared my journey, the impact and power of media and the importance of a message and a coffee. Business is simple and needs to be relational.

The research on the positive impact of Indigenous business is clear and the results are showing. You’d be doing yourself a favour if you engaged Indigenous businesses.