At the Aboriginal Business Expo 2020: Mike Rowe (Director General, Department of Water and Environmental Regulation), Jodi Cant (Director General, Department of Finance), Minister for Finance Ben Wyatt, Michelle Andrews (Director General, Department of Communities), Dr Richard Walley.
Western Australia’s second Aboriginal Business Expo was a resounding success, with more than 280 Aboriginal businesses promoting their goods, services, community services and works at the Perth Convention Centre on 4 March.
At the Expo, Aboriginal businesses were able to network with 40 different government agencies and trading enterprises, while also gaining an understanding of the pipeline of upcoming contract opportunities.
Opening the Expo, Finance Minister Ben Wyatt was enthusiastic about the benefits for Aboriginal businesses and the wider Indigenous community.
"I am thrilled with the level of interest to attend the Expo from across the Aboriginal business community. The inaugural Expo was a huge success, and we hope to build on that momentum at this year's event”, the Minister said.
"The Expo provides a fantastic opportunity for representatives from the Aboriginal business community to meet with government agencies, and learn about the huge potential to secure supply goods and services to the State Government.”
The Expo also celebrated the success of the Aboriginal Procurement Policy, with an expectation that increasing numbers of contracts will be awarded to Aboriginal businesses as the policy becomes embedded in agency practice.
The Aboriginal Procurement Policy aims to successfully deliver government contracts while improving the economic prosperity of Aboriginal people in businesses, their suppliers, sub-contractors and the broader Aboriginal community.
From 1 July 2018, the policy required government departments to award one percent of contracts to Aboriginal businesses, rising to three percent by 2021. It achieved strong results in its first year, with 4.77 per cent of contracts awarded to registered Aboriginal businesses. In 2018-19, a total contract value in excess of $167 million was awarded to 92 different Aboriginal-owned businesses throughout the State and across a variety of industries.
