Indigenous businesses in Cairns economic development cluster

Advanced Indigenous Business (AIB) members are collaborating to identify & secure business opportunities.

PWF would be delighted to hear from other regional industry clusters as to how their initiatives are progressing and share this info with our network.

The core members of AIB are Indigenous people who are sole or part owners of a business holding an ABN or who are interested in establishing a business who share AIB’s vision. Collectively AIB members have considerable local and national business capabilities in a wide range of businesses:

• multi media and design
• commercial cleaning
• car detailing
• administrative services
• tourism
• hair dressing and beauty
• yard & garden maintenance
• building contractors
• mentoring
• arts & crafts

Janet Ross-Kelly, AIB’s Business Development Officer would like to let other communities know about AIB and its activities. Janet can be contacted at:

Regional Development House
212 McLeod St, Cairns QLD 4870
Po Box 118N. North Cairns QLD 4870
Ph:07 4051 2166 Fax: 07 4051 2966
Email: aib@credc.com.au

AIB’s official launch

The Indigenous Business Cluster launch will take place 6-8 June this year in conjunction with the National Native Title Conference which is being held in Cairns. AIB will be holding a small trade expo of local Indigenous businesses also a booth with AIB info.

AIB has already held a ‘Meet & Greet’ networking session at the Tradewinds Rydges Hotel in Cairns, which gave other business owners the opportunity to buy into the marketing booklet currently being developed and to meet other indigenous and non indigenous businesspeople in Cairns.

AIB Background

AIB has been formed under the Cairns Regional Economic Development Cluster (CREDC) within which regional businesses ‘compete collaboratively in the global marketplace’. There is a range of industry sectors: Indigenous; Agribusiness; Marine; Engineering; Education, and each cluster operates autonomously with tangible and holistic support from other clusters and economic and management expertise from CREDC.

About Industry Clusters

Industry clusters are groups of competing, collaborating and interdependent businesses working in a common industry and concentrated in a geographic region. They draw on shared infrastructure and a pool of skilled workers.

Successful clusters are outward looking and have a concentration (eg of employment) within a region which is greater than the national average – implying specialisation, comparative advantage and critical mass within the region. They bring wealth into the region and can be considered the building blocks of the economy.

Industry clusters have been developing internationally over the past century. High profile examples include Silicon Valley, Hollywood and Northern Italy.

Examples in Australia include:

• 16 regional industry clusters under the CREDC umbrella – where the Far Northern economy shows strong growth at 6.5% with population growth at 1.7%, just above the Queensland state average;
• wine in Adelaide and surrounds;
• aquaculture in Port Lincoln.