Home / News & Media /
With a mission to create a more just and sustainable world through enterprise, Northern Territory based Together Business Australia Pty Ltd has made leap and bounds in supporting the financial literacy of mob all around Australia.
Founded in 2019 by Anaiwan woman, Sarah Hyland, Together Business is an Indigenous Chartered Accounting Firm which has set its path to making a difference for social enterprises that make change with their own communities.
Under the Social Enterprise Grant, Sarah and her team have invested heavily in developing and delivering resources that support First Nations women with timely, affordable and fit-for-purpose financial and business advice. Sarah said that one of the key barriers to success for Indigenous business founders is not having a hands-on approach with a professional advisor, mainly due to affordability. Her brainchild ‘Together Academy’ is changing this through being a financial empowerment and education platform built on the Intellectual Property of Together Business. “It provides access to timely and fit-for-purpose accounting and business support to First Nations business founders, at all stages of business maturity,” Sarah said.
The program was delivered through a transformative platform that continues to empower Indigenous women and sistergirls with essential skills for sustainable business success. Through a meticulously curated series, participants gained knowledge to navigate the intricacies of entrepreneurship. Twelve modules of high-quality video content, cover topics that help establish and grow successful businesses.
Additionally, participants received mentoring support through a certified accountant, a weekly online forum and blogs. The Together Academy Business Financial Literacy Program has been delivered to 77 First Nations women of which 61% identified as start-ups, while 22% classified themselves as scale-ups, signalling aspirations for business growth and expansion.
Sarah said that despite challenges inherent in modern business life, the program has garnered significant interest and yielded invaluable insights for future improvements.
“Our primary objective throughout this series was to empower Indigenous women and Sistergirls in business by enhancing their financial literacy skills,” Sarah said. “We were over the moon when our evaluation showed that a remarkable 75% of women reported a noticeable improvement in their knowledge and financial confidence as a direct consequence of their participation. That made all the hard work worthwhile,” Sarah said.
Throughout the program development and launch, the twelve video resources received 324 views with additional engagement covering a workbook, 100 blog articles, a business directory page and a funding opportunities wall.
Together Academy Ltd has now been established as a standalone not for profit, holding charitable status. "The Purpose of Together Academy is to be the go-to source of credible, and reliable business knowledge for diverse founders.
