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Indigenous Business Australia (IBA) has announced details for the highly anticipated 2020 Strong Women Strong Business conference.
Following on from the immensely successful 2018 conference held in Adelaide, IBA is expanding this year’s conference to include an additional 150 women, taking the total conference attendance up to 350 which will make it the largest gathering of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesswomen in Australia’s history.
A Yamatji and Nyoongar woman and an IBA Board Director, Shirley McPherson, said that the Strong Women Strong Business network had gone from strength to strength since the first conference, showcasing the determination, ingenuity and innovation of the Indigenous business sector.
“The success of Strong Women Strong Business is due to the strength of the collective network. We have always been committed to partnering with as many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesswomen as possible to ensure that as the network grows it will always remain deeply rooted to its original intent – a place for Indigenous business women to share, grow and support one another’s businesses.”
“We are very proud of our partnerships with strong women business leaders that help guide the Strong Women Strong Business network and are critical in making the 2020 conference a reality,” said Ms McPherson.
The key pillars of the three-day conference will be capability and capacity building with a focus on innovation, technology, business financial literacy, trade and markets.
Arrernte woman and IBA’s Business Solutions Director, Stella de Cos, said the themes of this year’s conference had been led by the Strong Women Strong Business network and partners.
“Everything we do with Strong Women Strong Business is led by the network and our partners. We read every post and listen intently to the themes our women are discussing and have made sure that the conference program reflects these discussions.”
Applications for the 2020 conference open on 30 January, with limited spaces available. With nearly 1,800 women in the Strong Women Strong Business network alone, IBA is expecting a large volume of applications.
“We received more than 500 applications in just one week to attend the 2018 conference and we are expecting even more women to apply this time around,” said Ms de Cos.
“The Indigenous business sector is one of the fastest growing business sectors in Australia, and our women are a huge part of that growth. Over the past two years we have seen a 93 per cent increase in the number of business loans we are approving for Indigenous women and it is not slowing down. We want to ensure we’re doing everything we can to support this incredible business boom.”
The Strong Women Strong Business 2020 conference is funded by IBA, with successful applicants receiving travel and accommodation to Darwin.
Applications for Strong Women Strong Business open 30 January and close 14 February 2020. More information can be found at strongwomenstrongbusiness.com.au or apply now.
Media contact: Tara Toohill, 02 9207 6362 or tara.toohill@iba.gov.au
