business leadership

Ongoing growth in the number of Indigenous Australians in business

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In 2014, Boyd Hunter attempted to provide a consistent estimate of the growth in Indigenous self-employment between 1991 and 2011. Changes in the census questionnaire structure and sequencing means that projecting the growth trends back to 1991 is now problematic. This paper provides a more refined, consistent and transparent method for calculating the number of Indigenous owner–managers, including accounting for the growing prevalence of Indigenous owner–managers who are increasingly identifying themselves as Indigenous in the census, unlike in previous censuses where many did not identify. Using census data and estimated residential population statistics, we conservatively estimate that around 17 900 Indigenous business owner–managers operated in Australia in 2016. We estimate that the number of Indigenous business owner–managers grew by 30% between 2011 and 2016. The rate of Indigenous business ownership has grown marginally as a share of the Indigenous working-age population at a time when the non-Indigenous rate of business ownership has fallen. Yet the rate of Indigenous business ownership remains relatively low compared with the rate of business ownership among non-Indigenous Australians. The paper also provides insights about the characteristics of Indigenous owner–managers, including their number, geographic distribution, gender composition, industrial sectors, and whether they are running incorporated or unincorporated enterprises. The recent growth in Indigenous owner–managers is almost entirely in urban areas and cities where well-developed and diverse labour and product markets operate. The paper explores some of the key factors that are impacting on Indigenous business development, including issues about the economics of discrimination and remoteness. The paper also outlines policy implications that arise from the analysis. We reflect on further refinements of the Indigenous Procurement Policy, the recently announced Indigenous Business Sector Strategy and other policy options.

Citation

Ongoing Growth in the number of Indigenous Australians in business. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328575842_Ongoing_Growth_in_the_number_of_Indigenous_Australians_in_business [accessed Dec 10 2018].

UW Names Colville Tribal Federal Corp. Minority Business of the Year

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The tribal business for the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in North Central Washington–the Colville Tribal Federal Corp., or CTFC–recently won the 2013 William D. Bradford Minority Business of the Year Award. It’s the granddaddy of seven awards given annually by the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business that recognizes a company “that has demonstrated success in areas of revenue, size, superior management practices and commitment to the community.”

According to tribal member Joe Pakootas, the tribe’s 25th CEO in 29 years, CTFC generated $86 million in revenue in 2013, up from $49 million in 2010, by cutting costs, eliminating wasteful spending and most significantly, restructuring the business (formerly Colville Tribal Enterprise Corp.) as a federally chartered corporation under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934...

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Citation

Armitage, Lynn. "UW Names Colville Tribal Federal Corp. Minority Business of the Year." Indian Country Today Media Network. January 15, 2014. Article. (https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/news/business/uw-names-colville..., accessed January 21, 2014)