An Aboriginal-owned investment company with a unique business model is making a big difference to the lives of Aboriginal people in Central Australia.

Centrecorp Aboriginal Investment Corporation, a $250 million portfolio with a $20 million-a-year turnover, channels a sustainable portion of its profits into its charitable foundation to support education, training, employment, health and welfare, housing, and sport and culture.

Chair David Ross, who was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his lifelong work to improve the lives of Aboriginal people, says: “I’ve always believed that being involved in economic development is the way for Aboriginal people to better their lives and try to disengage from the welfare system and, later, the royalty system, which is based on getting the money consumed now and nothing is left for future generations.”

And former chair Barbara Shaw says: “Centrecorp shows how Aboriginal people can be a player in the world of commerce and business.”

Ex-board member Owen Cole says: “Everyone was getting a fair go unless you were Aboriginal. That was my motivational foundation in trying to get involved in making a change.”

Centrecorp does not receive any grant money – all its funds are self-generated through smart investments.

As former board member William Tilmouth says: “We’ve made very astute business decisions.”

The company has a 50 percent stake in a wide range of businesses Australia- wide, including in motor vehicle dealerships, commercial property development and management, residential property ownership for Aboriginal tenants, Aboriginal housing construction, real estate, car rental, hardware and a funeral business set up to provide affordable funerals for Aboriginal people.

Centrecorp was founded in the 1980s by three Aboriginal organisations: the Central Land Council, the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress and Tangentyere Council.

The first step was to raise seed capital, so the fledgling foundation acquired a 1.5 percent stake in the 21-year lease for a new gas pipeline running from the Amadeus field in Central Australia to Darwin – for $1,500.

Then CLC legal director Bruce Donald says the small shareholding was a “golden opportunity”.

“The question was how to raise 1,500 bucks.”

In a heartwarming community initiative, two music shows were staged, which raised enough money to buy the pipeline share, a chair and a fax machine.

Centrecorp Aboriginal Investment Corporation, which is 100 percent Indigenous owned, was on its way.

The question is often asked: how is an Indigenous-owned investment company that started in such a humble way so successful in the brutal world of business. And the answers are simple: a good business plan and good governance.

The trust deeds stipulated that Centrecorp was to build up assets for 21 years before making charitable donations, a visionary strategy that has ensured the company remains sound and sustainable.

Money is never donated to individuals – funds are paid on their behalf, such as school fees, sporting trip costs and tutoring, and to suppliers, companies and organisations.

Chief executive Randle Walker says: “We’re a great success story without being royalty based or government funded.

“A lot of people don’t realise that there’s an Aboriginal organisation in Alice Springs that has a national reach, has good governance and is always looking for industry partners to work with us and our investments.

“We’re always looking for new investments. We look at all industries and for good business partners.”

Centrecorp pays for up to 130 Centralian students to go to private schools each year.

“That is helping to transform their lives,” Mr Walker says.

It has also invested $8.5 million in buying houses for Aboriginal tenants in Alice Springs as part of the MyPlace program operated by Community Housing Central Australia.

“The properties are leased to Aboriginal people who are working but can’t get into the rental market as they lack a history of past rentals.”

Centrecorp has a 50 percent interest in Centrebuild, which has a Northern Territory Government 3+2-year contract to build houses in the Tanami Cluster, which is made up of the communities of Yuendemu, Yuelamu, Nyrripi and Laramba.

“Having such a long contract enables us to provide long-term employment for Aboriginal people and to take on young Aboriginal people as apprentices,” says Mr Walker. “We exceed Aboriginal employment targets set by the government.

“We’ve got great community relations. We fix houses because nobody else will do it. And we do it voluntarily.”

And every time Centrebuild hands over a house to the NT Government, Centrecorp gifts a new washing machine to the Aboriginal family leasing it.

Centrecorp has also donated 2500 washing machines to Aboriginal communities in Central Australia over the past five years.

“Most of the people who receive the whitegoods don’t know that it’s Centrecorp who has donated them. But it’s a good thing to do. Clean clothes help stop the spread of skin ailments and transmissible skin diseases.”

Centrecorp’s shareholders are not entitled to receive any dividends or benefits under the terms of the Trust Deeds.

The corporation has a strong social conscience, even when that may restrict its options for growth – it does not invest in companies that damage the lives of Aboriginal people or compete with other Aboriginal-owned businesses.

Centrecorp lives by its mission statement: To make a beneficial and ongoing difference to the lives of Aboriginal people in Central Australia. TQ