Page 3661 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 23 November 2022
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The new business support program, Badji, commenced in June 2022 and is being delivered by Coolamon Advisors. “Badji” means “arise” in the Ngunnawal language. Coolamon Advisors worked with the Winanggaay Ngunnawal Language Corporation and, in particular, Ngunnawal elder Dr Caroline Hughes to identify an appropriate name for this program, and we thank Dr Hughes for her guidance and for gifting this name.
Coolamon Advisors are an ACT majority owned and managed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander company. They have a wealth of lived and learned experience to share with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses. Coolamon’s co-owner and director of the program is Katrina Fanning, a former Canberra Woman of the Year and ACT Australian of the Year. Katrina is supported by concierge manager Julie Jenkins, herself a successful small business owner and well placed to understand the needs of businesses connecting with the service.
Badji provides a new support service for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses to help support the sector, and it is a vital part of First Nations self-determination and economic independence.
Coolamon have been busy establishing and delivering the Badji program. Since its inception, they have established a website to provide information about the program and to take expressions of interest from client companies. They have conducted a “working together” workshop with a wide ecosystem of support providers; and they have worked with the Winanggaay Ngunnawal Language Corporation to provide the dedicated name Badji.
This week I was delighted to receive a copy of Badji’s first newsletter, which contained a message from Julie Jenkins about the services that the business support concierge can provide to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses in the ACT, from the provision of workspace and office facilities to assisting businesses with the documentation needed for Supply Nation registration. The ACT government will be working closely with Coolamon Advisors on Badji as the program develops through its inaugural year.
As we work to realise our joint objective of supporting existing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses to develop and grow, and to help more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to start their own businesses, I look forward to updating the Assembly and to celebrating their successes. I present the following paper:
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Business Support Program—Ministerial statement, 23 November 2022.
I move:
That the Assembly take note of the paper.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
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