IndIgenous BusInesses In AustrAlIA
In order to leverage the indigenous businesses and nurture them with a conducive growth environment, the Queensland Government, Australia has established an online database of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses. The database has been named as Black Business Finder (BBF). The online database is further linked to ICN Gateway, a comprehensive online system with more than 60,000 listed suppliers and around AU$247 billion worth of projects. The database also serves as an effective tool for major project owners in construction, agriculture, mining and tourism to source goods and services from local indigenous businesses. The registering businesses on ICN have to create their Company Profile in a 3-step process. After this, they may register expressions of interest in opportunities that have been listed on ICN Gateway. The project will prove as a milestone in providing long term economic independence and social security to the families of the Aboriginal community, which according to 2006 survey, only 6% of them worked in their own businesses when compared to 17% of non-indigenous people. The project aims to achieve this by integrating the indigenous communities’ businesses into supply chains of e-Governance and private sector.