Indigenous Business Australia has forged a partnership with the Northern Territory Government to deliver the NT Aboriginal Tourism Business Accelerator. 

The initiative provides access to industry experts and mentors with tailored business coaching to address challenges and growth opportunities, as well as networking with fellow tourism operators. 

The aim is to empower Aboriginal tourism operators and aspiring operators by enhancing their business skills, expanding their networks and providing tailored support to boost their growth. 

It’s already chalking up successes. 

James Morgan is happy to be an ambassador for the program after attending workshops and specialised training programs with Indigenous Business Australia to develop his own business idea. 

He developed practical business skills, worked closely with business coaches and expanded his access to networks. 

“It opened great opportunities for me and gave me the confidence to go out on my own,” he says. “I gained the best contacts. 

“Going into business is a step by step process and the accelerator program helps you along the way. The program was pivotal to my success.” 

Mr Morgan is the founder and operator of Yibekka Kakadu Tours. 

Yibekka is a Kunwinjgu word meaning listening and feeling. 

“You have to listen to feel,” says Mr Morgan, whose family comes from Kakadu. “The one can’t be done properly without the other. That’s what our tours are all about.” 

He employs three local Indigenous guides to show tourists the world-class highlights of the national park, including Indigenous rock art thousands of years old, and give them an insight into Aboriginal culture. 

South Arrernte woman Stella de Cos, Director, Community & Customer Experience, at Indigenous Business Australia, says: “The NT Aboriginal Tourism Accelerator Program is more than just a program – it’s about empowering our First Nations entrepreneurs, fostering innovation and preserving our deep cultural heritage that is infused in the land, sea and sky of this country. 

“Expanding the opportunities for our Aboriginal businesses to share culture and country with the rest of the world is ultimately a success for everyone involved. 

“Our people are the original and ongoing custodians of this land, and the deep understanding and knowledge they have is what makes these opportunities so important.” 

Indigenous Business Australia, which sits in the Prime Minister and Cabinet portfolio, is a commercially focused organisation working to help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people achieve economic independence. 

It offers support to own a home, start a business, invest and manage assets, and assist and enhance the economic development opportunities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. 

CONTACT 

Indigenous Business Australia 

iba.gov.au 

1800 107107