View our Blog
Felix Gold
Far East Gold
Far East Gold
Wellnex Limited
Propell Holdings Ltd
Prescient Theraputics
Site
TRIBE
MDF Global Limited Q&A
MDF Global Limited Q&A

Indigenous businesses generate more revenue than local beer industry

Australia’s first nations entrepreneurs collectively generate $4.9 billion for the local economy, first-of-its-kind research has found.
Australia’s first nations entrepreneurs collectively generate $4.9 billion for the local economy, first-of-its-kind research has found. A new report by Pro Bono Australia revealed the number of indigenous businesses in Australia grew 74% in the 12 years to financial year 2018 with the sectors’ gross income more than doubling during that period. This immense growth has also created 22,000 jobs, with Pro Bono Australia describing the previously unresearched sector as “an unrecognised, but major, economic driver and employer” within Australia. The report found indigenous businesses were also larger on average than non-indigenous businesses, bringing in annual income of $1.6 million compared to $400,000 in 2018. These businesses also hire more staff on average by a factor of seven – indigenous businesses typically have 14 staff, the report found, while non-indigenous businesses averaged two.
“The picture that emerges is a thriving sector, which in some cases surpasses non-Indigenous businesses in size and employment outcomes on average,” Pro Bono Australia noted.
The report highlighted that although 26% of indigenous businesses are based in remote Australia, these businesses collectively account for 34% of total gross income income and 37% of the sector’s employment – making indigenous businesses vital components of remote Australia’s economy.

Poor data a weakness

Pro Bono Australia’s research was undertaken after the organisation noticed business data did not include indigenous identifiers, making it difficult for policy makers to accurately understand or assist the sector.
“This data blind spot has meant rigorous, evidence-based measurement of Indigenous businesses’ contribution in Australia has almost been impossible,” the report noted.
Pro Bono Australia is now advocating for improvements to indigenous business registries and the quality of data within I-BLADE – a data set created by Pro Bono Australia by integrating statistics from four Indigenous business registries with data from the ABS Business Longitudinal Analysis Data Environment (BLADE). “Perhaps the biggest and most pressing issue is improving coverage of the sector,” Pro Bono Australia added. “The fact that Indigenous businesses in these registries are much larger than non-Indigenous businesses suggests that smaller Indigenous businesses may be under-represented. “This may be because of perceived barriers to registering their business or indeed the value proposition of registering their business. But it is often the invisible pockets of the community that need special attention from policy – that is, small businesses and start-ups.”
Sources:

This Week’s News

News

31st May 2024

Top geo backed by leading resources funds believes he has discovered a potential new gold-copper district

News

8th May 2024

BHP Xplor winner coming to the ASX

News

4th May 2024

AI Industrial Revolution: Aussie company unlocking AI for multinationals

General Advice Warning

Any advice provided by Reach Markets including on its website and by its representatives is general advice only and does not consider your objectives, financial situation or needs, and you should consider whether it is appropriate for you. This might mean that you need to seek personal advice from a representative authorised to provide personal advice. If you are thinking about acquiring a financial product, you should consider our Financial Services Guide (FSG)

including the Privacy Statement and any relevant Product Disclosure Statement or Prospectus (if one is available) to understand the features, risks and returns associated with the investment.

Please click here to read our full warning.

Close
Search

Hit enter to search or ESC to close

cookie By using this website, you agree to our cookie policy. Close