Right support, right story, right capital: a better way to support Indigenous women in business
Right support, right story, right capital: a better way to support Indigenous women in business
By Dr Cindy Reese Mitchell PhD
I have seen first hand the transformational change that can arise when passionate, talented Indigenous business women have access to Indigenous-led coaching, guidance and fellowship. I have also seen how it can go very wrong.
Through our innovative collaboration with Kimberley Jiyigas and Menzies Foundation, the Maganda Makers Business Club has coached and supported nearly 150 Kimberley Indigenous women. We are now looking to translate these learnings in new regions in the Northern Territory and Far North Queensland. Our focus has been, and will continue to be, how to navigate and break down the existing barriers and impediments to building economic and social change for Indigenous women.
Understanding barriers - the key to creating real change
The women we represent across the Kimberley region have shared their experiences accessing the many varied business and financial support services. Inherent in many rural Indigenous business support programs are Anglo-European assumptions about business, family, a linear business growth trajectory and the role of economic development intermediaries. Whilst these approaches have merit and can work in some circumstances, they can also have unintended consequences and exacerbate trauma. They are also not well suited to very rural and remote communities where individuals choose to live and work to maintain their ongoing connection to their Culture.
While we work with some of the most incredible entrepreneurial leaders, even they have limits. We have seen what happens when Indigenous entrepreneurs experience the incongruence between an expectation to maximise profit and deeply held cultural values prioritising relationships between people and Country. Unfortunately, for every interaction designed to help these women, it may inadvertently make them feel that something is wrong with them and put them in doubt about the potential of their business or of their abilities as a business woman. A rational response is to give up entirely and remain dependent on welfare or a wage earner in your family, who then is less able to get herself out of the cycle of disadvantage.
Another impediment is the stark difference between a Indigenous view of wealth and success, compared to an non-Indigenous view. Whilst the Maganda Makers Business Club tagline is ‘Empowering Kimberley Indigenous Women to build wealth through Business’, the ‘wealth’ referred to here is not in terms of money. For Indigenous peoples, being focused on money is seen as greedy and self-centred, however the idea of ‘wealth’ is seen as a way of providing and sharing generously with others, which is very inspirational to First Nations peoples. Entrepreneurship provides Indigenous women on Country with the flexibility to generate a sustainable income while managing their family, cultural and community responsibilities. This would be considered ‘wealthy’ to these women, however it is easily misunderstood by those with western attitudes.
Tragically, trauma is another significant barrier to change. Natasha Short (pictured left), Maganda Makers Club Captain, shared how decades of trauma and racism can affect you. “You are not smart enough. You are not going to have money. You don’t have any status. You’re not at ‘my level’. What does that do to the psyche of a person?” Our Indigenous women’s entrepreneurship program, Future Weavers, enables Indigenous women to use their business ventures as a platform to change systems that for decades have been pitted against them.
How do we break down these barriers in the work we do?
Good Return and our collaborative partners, act as an ‘impact backbone’ to support the Indigenous women in three ways:
Artwork by Rebecca Morgan & The Maganda Makers Business Club, Strongbala Woomin, 2023
Right Support
We provide funding and resources to allow the women to develop healing-centred business advisory and capability-building, especially through on Country events and peer-to-peer support.
Right Story
We support the women to surface stories and data that shed light on their movement and retain their sovereignty over its use. We also work with our funders to provide full transparency regarding the costs to deliver the program in very remote parts of Australia so that they can pay what it takes. We challenge the dominance of qualitative metrics in economic development to incorporate things like agency, financial inclusion, self-confidence, recognition by family and community and resiliency.
Right Capital
We appreciate that Indigenous ventures are often not linear in their growth or development. Also, for a woman to invest in her business, it can impact her ability to support her family, where there may be high levels of dependency. Indigenous ventures need careful support and a range of vehicles; grants, no-interest loans, and concessional loans to ‘bridge’ them into the products that might be available from a bank. Without this support, our venturer is highly susceptible to predatory lending practices. This is why we are looking at introducing a tailored finance product that understands and respects the needs of Indigenous women entrepreneurs.
In conclusion
Transforming communities, particularly in remote areas, that have experienced decades of deprivation, requires empathy, understanding and an entirely different approach.
By providing these communities with trusted Indigenous-led, healing-centred, relational, and transformative community development practice, and by utilising the women leaders and women’s collectives, we can support a community to lead the change it wishes to see.
You can read more about our Indigenous Women’s Entrepreneurship program here.
Natasha Short and Cindy Mitchell (L to R)
Dr Cindy Reese Mitchell, PhD is a settler migrant to Australia of African American and Native American heritage. She is based on Larrakia Country (Darwin). She recently completed her PhD in Kimberley Indigenous Women's Leadership and Entrepreneurship at Swinburne University of Technology, Centre for Social Impact.
Click on the image to the right to hear more from Cindy Mitchell about the unique cultural and environmental contexts in which Indigenous women venture and grow businesses.