Articles

Surviving covid19 as a person will require patience, resilience and community. As a business owner not only will you require the above, but much, much, more. Letting staff go, juggling bills, uncertainty of income, anxiety about the business in the next couple months not to mention home life and the heath concerns of friends and family. We have over 120 Indigenous businesses, we call them members. They are members of the Victorian Indigenous Chamber of Commerce, the majority of our business are family owned or sole traders. Our members are family and our family need your support. OUR MEMBERS Our family are starting to make life changing decisions, daily, shutting down entire arms of the business, selling assets, taking out loans. Some of our businesses have let go the entire workforce leaving only the founder. Some of those employees have been there since day one. With our members making drastic…

As Australia moves to respond to the emerging global COVID-19 crisis, IBA wants to assure our customers that we are doing everything we can at this time to assist you and keep our operations running as smoothly as possible. We know that many of you will be facing uncertainty and economic hardship now and in the coming months and our teams are hard at work looking for ways we can assist at this time. IBA BUSINESS FINANCE AND EQUIPMENT FINANCE CUSTOMERS For IBA customers who have a start-up package, business loan or equipment finance product through IBA and have currently been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 situation, you will be able to apply for the following assistance: Deferral of business loan and lease payments for an initial four-month period Waiver of interest on business loans and leases for an initial four-month period Special assistance for customers experiencing hardship, including loan…

The bronzed Aussie, the long weekend trip down to the favourite family camping ground, sausage sizzles, hot and sweaty Christmas, Holden Commodore(RIP) vs Ford Falcon, XXXX vs VB. What are the thoughts, feelings, nostalgia that floods your mind? Where does this cast you back? These are what most Australians would refer to as part of our culture. In this article, we will explore the difference between mainstream Australian Culture and Indigenous Culture, and what are the implications in business and what are the expectations when it comes to a work/life balance. Firstly, what defines culture, In accordance with Merriam-Webster here are some of the representations of Culture, a) the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group. b) the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterises an institution or organisation. c) the set of values, conventions, or social practices associated with…

Reconciliation as defined by Oxford Learners Dictionary, reconciliation (noun)(between A and B) | reconciliation (with somebody) an end to a disagreement and the start of a good relationship again “Their change of policy brought about a reconciliation with Britain.” reconciliation (between A and B) | reconciliation (with something) the process of making it possible for two different ideas, facts, etc. to exist together without being opposed to each other “the reconciliation between environment and development” I don’t think the Dictionary does the word complete justice. If we’re to take the dogmatic view from the dictionary, the process of closing the gap and reconciliation becomes a cold, lengthy and political process. See our calendar of events for an overview of significant dates, you will be able to gain a systematic overview of apologies and key events which outlines the relationship with the First Nations peoples and the Australian Government since 1788….

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander entrepreneurship has been around for a long time. We have covered in other articles the history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses. In this article, we will outline three easy steps to discover why you should find and work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses and maintain those relationships. As part of the ever-growing social enterprise market, Indigenous business is one of the flagships in this space. First nations people have always been innovative and conducted trade long before European arrival. Since ‘settlement’, Aboriginal and Torres Strait People lost the tools to their trade and the trade itself in land stewardship. Unable to practice business On Country and through various policies of assimilation set by the Federal and State Governments, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of Australia were not included in the foundations of the new world and the new economy that…