Supply Nation and the Business Council of Australia (BCA) will this week launch a collaborative partnership to provide Indigenous businesses with growing opportunities to supply goods and services to Australia’s largest businesses.

The partnership will see two of Australia’s leading organisations work to achieve shared goals, including a thriving Indigenous business sector and greater Indigenous economic independence. 

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Supply Nation and the BCA will be officially released on Wednesday, 12 February at a luncheon event hosted by both organisations at Parliament House, Canberra.

The aim of the MOU is to build new links and strengthen existing links between BCA member companies and Indigenous businesses so that more Australian businesses adopt supplier diversity – including sourcing products and services from Indigenous businesses – as standard practice.

Under the MOU, BCA member companies will work together to identify and share examples of successful Indigenous supplier relationships, and continue to build and promote the business and community case for supplier diversity.

The MOU will also involve both organisations hosting events to raise the profile of supplier diversity in the business community, and jointly advocating for policy to incentivise and recognise good supplier diversity practice.

Supply Nation CEO Charles Prouse said the joint venture would help drive greater Indigenous economic engagement. “The Business Council of Australia has supported Supply Nation since our foundation five years ago,” Mr Prouse said.

“Our relationship is a longstanding one. We share the same aspiration to ensure supplier diversity becomes standard practice in the Australian business landscape. I believe the MOU is the obvious next step in helping us to achieve this. It allows us to develop and embed the right capabilities within BCA member companies.”

“The parliamentary luncheon provides us with the perfect opportunity to share our ambitions for supplier diversity in Australia with our key stakeholders. I look forward to celebrating this new milestone in the Supply Nation journey,” Mr Prouse said.

“The BCA is committed to working to provide the social and economic conditions in which Indigenous Australians can achieve their potential,” BCA Chief Executive Jennifer Westacott said.

“The emergence of the Indigenous business sector is a unique opportunity for business and government organisations to support economic inclusion in a way that delivers economic and social benefits.

“Part of our partnership will be about working together to ensure business and government are creating the right environment to stimulate the growth of the Indigenous business sector,” Ms Westacott said.

Supply Nation will work closely with the BCA’s Indigenous Engagement Task Force, whose role is to identify, promote and share the experiences of their member companies in supporting economic development among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. This aligns with Supply Nation’s vision and business strategy, to achieve a prosperous, vibrant and sustainable Indigenous enterprise sector by connecting our corporate and government Members with our Certified Indigenous Suppliers.

Speakers at the luncheon will include Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, Alan Tudge, BCA President Tony Shepherd, Supply Nation Board Chair and CEO at Citi Australia, Stephen Roberts and CEO Message Stick and Founding Member and Board Member at Supply Nation, Michael McLeod.

Attendees at the event will include Supply Nation CEO Charles Prouse, BCA Chief Executive Jennifer Westacott, BCA Indigenous Engagement Task Force Chair and Allens Managing Partner Michael Rose, and Supply Nation Board Members.

Business Council of Australia and Supply Nation Memorandum of Understanding

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