Latest news with #IndigenousBusiness
Globe and Mail
5 days ago
- Health
- Globe and Mail
These entrepreneurs are using their canned water to improve access to safe drinking water for Indigenous communities
Part of Tyson Wesley and Natasha Commanda's inspiration for FN Clean Water, a company that sells fresh spring water from the Eastern Ontario Highlands, was purely business. One-fifth of the water Canadians drink comes in bottles, according to the most recent data from Statistics Canada — but none of the companies that sell this water are Indigenous-owned or -operated. 'The ability to buy water is everywhere, it's so accessible. But there's not really an Indigenous presence in that marketplace,' Mr. Wesley says. 'So, we decided to start a water company but do it a little differently by using cans that are recyclable.' But FN Clean Water, which launched in 2022, was also personal. Wesley is Cree and grew up in Kashechewan First Nation, an isolated community in Northern Ontario on the west coast of James Bay. He has clear memories of what it was like to live without access to clean water. In 2003, the community had been placed under a boil-water advisory, and two years later, then Ontario Minister of Aboriginal Affairs David Ramsay ordered almost 1,000 residents of the Kashechewan reserve to evacuate because their drinking water had elevated levels of E. coli. Mr. Wesley remembers the water that came out of the taps changing colour, and that people who bathing with that water were left with lesions and other skin issues. 'We had a water crisis for quite a while before the government really reacted to the situation that we were in,' he says. 'It was a really dramatic experience not being able to drink water from your tap and it's still an ongoing issue. I look at my cousin right now, who's close to his mid 20s, and he doesn't drink water out of the tap, even in cities. It takes quite a while to break out of that psychological habit.' His is one of many Indigenous communities who have had to adapt to living with unsafe, undrinkable and unusable water. Despite Canada having a bounty of freshwater reserves – the country ranks third in the world – over 600 First Nations communities have had to live without safe drinking water, a violation of the United Nations recognized rights to safe drinking water and sanitation. 'Canadians take water for granted everywhere they go in the country, it's such a convenience. Our goal of gaining a presence in the retail market is to tell a different story, to educate Canadians about First Nations issues,' Wesley says. That's why the tagline on every can of FN Clean Water is, Everyone Deserves It. While he and Commanda are broadening the reach of their brand, which can currently be found in several Ottawa-area locations including the Indigenous-owned Beandigen Cafe and the boutique at the National Art Gallery, they have also partnered with Water First to support the charitable organization's efforts to bring clean drinking water in sustainable and long-term way to Indigenous communities. Water First works in partnership with Indigenous communities and offers education and training for water treatment, long-term resource management and school programming to show students pathways to careers in water science. Because the organization's work is community led, it's important for donor partners to align with the priorities and needs of the communities Water First works with. 'Our team connects with businesses to learn more about their work and interests and ensure that our goals and priorities align,' says Sarah Jayne Kendall, director of community engagement for the not-for-profit. 'Water First is the second component to our story. Our partners, participants and communities are the first. We have a responsibility to ensure that we do this appropriately, So being as clear as possible about how supporters can directly impact this shared work is critical to how we operate as an organization.' FN Clean Water dedicates a portion of its annual proceeds to the organization. To date, Wesley and Commanda's start-up has been able to donate $1,000 to Water First. 'I think educating people on Water First is also our intent,' he says. 'We're a for-profit company. But when people email us to say, 'Hey, can we donate money to your company?' we try to redirect them to Water First.' This form of funding is an effective way to support a charity. In fact, Kendall says the organization appreciates the support in all its forms. 'Some [donors] offer a portion of their proceeds. Some have teamed up on social media campaigns with us. Others have made multi-year grants to support programming in the future. We rely on all of this,' she says. 'It's all creative, it's all innovative, and it ends up reaching people in different ways. From my perspective, it always goes back to raising awareness. Without that awareness, we're not going to raise the funds. And it's critical to raise that awareness, because this is an ongoing crisis in Canada.' One in a regular series of stories. To read more, visit our Indigenous Enterprises section. If you have suggestions for future stories, reach out to IE@
Bloomberg
05-08-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Canada's Top Indigenous Bank Raises Funds as Loan Demand Grows
First Nations Bank of Canada kicked off an equity increase of as much as C$50 million ($36 million), seeking to offer more loans to Indigenous firms as they accelerate business development across the country. In the first stage, the Saskatoon, Saskatchewan-based lender raised C$9 million from five Indigenous groups from five provinces and territories: Whitefish Lake First Nation #128, Uujo Developments, Doig River First Nation, Athabasca Basin Development and Daanaa Jili Trust — an existing shareholder expanding its position.
News.com.au
27-07-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Buy SA Week: Celebrate and support our local producers
Pauly Vandenbergh's links to South Australia run deep, so it's no surprise he's fully committed to championing the 'Buy SA. For SA' message. A proud Wirangu and Kokatha man from Ceduna, on the state's Far West Coast, he recently joined the Brand SA advisory board, providing a First Nations perspective on its mission to raise the profile of South Australian business products, services and experiences. The co-founder and director of Aboriginal youth organisation Tjindu Foundation and the Aboriginal Basketball Academy, Vandenbergh is also the director of Indigenous-owned and operated businesses Wanna Mar tuna fishing and Munda Wines, as well as being the AFL's national Indigenous and multicultural engagement manager. 'There's no shying away that I'm there to represent First Nations people and businesses and bring that Indigenous lens to what we believe the South Australia brand is,' Vandenbergh says of his role on the Brand SA board. 'But, more broadly, I've really enjoyed just seeing how we're trying to sell SA products – and us thinking about how we keep people in SA and provide opportunities for them becomes really critical.' Vandenbergh says there's a 'nice opportunity' to promote businesses based in the regions and the remote communities, such as SA Indigenous art. 'I'd like to really highlight all the amazing companies we have in SA that are First Nations-led, such as Daniel Motlop's (Indigenous food supplies business) Something Wild. 'There are some amazing products and industries where people are doing some really good things. That's part of my role, too, to help magnify those.' South Australian products will come into the spotlight during this year's Buy SA Week, which provides an opportunity to celebrate local products during a week-long line-up of activities from July 28 to August 3. The week will feature a mix of tastings, giveaways and cooking demonstrations at various venues throughout Adelaide and country South Australia. Vandenbergh says Buy SA Week – first held last year – presents a fantastic chance to highlight what South Australia has to offer, including the state's wealth of premium wine, which produces 80 per cent of the volume nationally. Buying SA also contributes enormously to the state's bottom line, with merchandise exports totalling $17.8bn annually. 'When people choose South Australian produce, products and services, they're not just getting great quality; they're supporting local people, keeping money in SA, as well as reducing environmental impacts, with less freight and higher production standards,' Vandenbergh says. 'We've got some really amazing products here in South Australia – not just First Nations, but right across the board. And, coming from the wine industry, I think we're definitely spoiled in that sector.' At present 10,800 South Australian businesses have registered to use the state brand on their products, to help customers to easily identify locally produced goods. However, with more than 150,000 businesses in operation across key sectors in SA – including creative, defence, minerals and energy, food, wine and agribusiness, health, technology, tourism and space – Vandenbergh urges more businesses to come on board and fly the Brand SA flag. 'I love South Australia,' he says. 'I love what we stand for. I feel it is a land of opportunity but we need to – and can – better promote what we've got to offer. 'The cost of living is a huge issue at the moment, but if we come together, we can make our workloads a bit easier.' Vandenbergh's pride in helping foster the state's economic future is obvious. 'Aboriginal people in South Australia refer to ourselves as Nungas,' he says. 'So I'm a proud Nunga – a proud South Australian. 'I just love what the state is and what it has to offer, and I'd just encourage everyone to buy South Australian products, which is really important for us all.' For more visit Evolution bringing potential to life Pauly Vandenbergh is excited about the evolving potential of his two commercial produce-related enterprises. Wanna Mar – which means 'sea food' in Wirangu language – was established in 2019 with assistance of the Stehr Group in Port Lincoln, to help restore First Nations people's connections with the sea. 'We're only at the beginning of that journey, but we're pretty excited about what the future could look like,' Vandenbergh says. However, he admits the Munda Wines label – a partnership with Treasury Wines Estates – is his 'real passion' at present. 'We've got the best wine region in the world and we're creating beautiful wines,' he says of the Munda, label named after the Wirangu and Kokatha word for land. 'We're also helping highlight the traditional owners of where the grapes come, from which I think is really important.' The label is beginning to make inroads into overseas markets, with orders from Canada and Malaysia, and from the Native American Chamber of Commerce, to supply several casinos in the US. Burra merino wool in fashion around the world Across Australia and the globe, retailers are warming to a South Australian fashion business that is created from purely local merino wool. Emily Riggs and her family run more than 15,000 merino sheep across four properties at Burra in the state's Mid North, and in 2019 the young designer embraced her love of merino wool and fashion by founding Iris & Wool. 'I'm married to a wool producer and fell in love with the fibre, and thought how could I contribute to the wool industry and shine a light on our wool growers? So I created a fashion brand,' she says. Iris & Wool is stocked in Burra at the label's shopfront, across Australia at different retailers, and even in New Zealand and the UK. Thousands of locally made Iris & Wool products are shipped around the world each year. The brand was created after cancer struck Riggs's family and herself from a young age. She was inspired to create a fashion label that would use Burra's greatest export, wool, and her flair for design. The brand's collections have grown over time to include womenswear, menswear and childrenswear, and now embrace other luxury natural fibres. Passionate about promoting Australian merino wool, Riggs is dedicated to nurturing and supporting the local industry and community of Australian wool producers now more than ever, as country towns and farmers feel the pressures of the drought. 'It was important for the brand for people to support it locally, and obviously it's a flow-on effect for South Australians as well,' she says. 'Buying SA helps strengthen the state's economic resilience, which is important during drought, and with last year being the driest on record, a bit of help and support goes a long way.' 'Not only is Australia the world's largest producer of wool, but this pure yarn is renewable, biodegradable and sustainable.' Still nuts about Ditters A much-celebrated South Australian icon is making a return to the Adelaide CBD, bringing the more-than 100-year-old brand into the 21st century. Ditters, the beloved SA fruit and nut company, has been a staple of high-quality gifts and snacks since 1918, taking pride and place underneath Christmas trees and featuring at local celebrations ever since. From its humble beginnings as a market stall by creator Otto Kurt Ditter, the company was acquired by Matt and Esther Johnson in 2019. This month the iconic brand opens a new store in Adelaide Arcade – in the same shopfront the company occupied more than 40 years ago. For the new owners, it was a case of tweaking the format of the business to bring it front and centre to a new generation. 'I stumbled across the idea of orphan brands at university – brands that are around when you're young and you love them, but then they sort of disappear a bit or they become a bit invisible, or maybe in some cases totally invisible, and Ditters was one of those brands,' Matt Johnson explains. 'I thought, 'What's happened to it?' It used to be huge and it's gone'. And it hadn't actually gone; it had just got very, very small and continued to trade. 'So we took it on about six years ago and we've been gradually rebuilding the product base and reviving some of the old, traditional recipes. 'We've re-established a production facility in Melrose Park and have been just gradually growing it to a stage where we think the next step is to establish a store in Adelaide.' As it is a uniquely South Australian business with a rich history, Johnson says it is important to celebrate and support local producers, to employ locals and contribute to the state economy. 'It's something that we really treasure,' he says. 'South Australians really love our own brands and the companies that have been developed here. 'I think they're an expression of who we are. We want to kind of keep feeding that and sort of keep it in the family, if you will. 'By supporting each other, supporting local businesses and supporting people with jobs and opportunities to develop, we see a great sense of pride in what South Australia can achieve.' As consumers become more conscious about the environment and local produce, Johnson says the local production facility in the inner south is also innovating, to minimise freight and packaging, by producing locally and selling locally. 'We're actually making changes to our some of our product offerings at the moment to reduce our plastic significantly, and we are aggressively looking for solutions,' he says 'There's lots and lots of homogenisation out there in products, and I think brands like ours that strive for excellence, sustainability and connect locally is what makes our state distinctive.' As the new store opens its doors, the company – which became synonymous with glace fruit, Australian dried fruits and, of course, nuts – will continue producing its iconic gourmet cake. And for South Australians who remember the sweet treat, it literally hasn't changed one bit. 'So, we've been making this same fruit and nut cake with the same recipe since the 1960s and that's still, to this day, one of our most popular products,' Johnson says. 'We think it will be an even more popular South Australian product as we celebrate the opening of our Adelaide Arcade store.' Connecting to the community Since arriving in Australia from Italy, Andrea Iannucci and Elisa D'Amico have created a culinary destination that celebrates everything about the country that has embraced them. The Bond Store Microbrewery and Distillery in Wallaroo has become a must-visit destination in the Yorke Peninsula town, offering locally brewed beers, handcrafted gins and delectable dishes all celebrating the region. It didn't happen overnight. From 2013 the pair worked and travelled around Australia and the state before stumbling across their dream: A place where locals could celebrate the best of their offerings together and bring big flavours, bold ideas and a sense of pride to the small town. 'It's definitely a point of difference being in a regional area – you wouldn't expect a place like this,' Andrea says. 'That's probably the comment that we hear more often, that you wouldn't expect something like this to be in Wallaroo but most likely in a city like Melbourne or Adelaide or Sydney.' The pair's vision has connected them to the community, focusing on the region they now call home. The use of local produce – such as grain from nearby farms to brew beer, coriander and quandongs for gin – has resulted in a winning formula. 'Supporting locals means we are supporting our community,' Elisa says. 'We're really strong in supporting everything that is regional or from the area. Along with our food and our beers and gins, we like to get wines that are from SA because we've got beautiful wineries. Things like that for us make a huge difference.' Starting their own family in Wallaroo, Andrea and Elisa look forward to welcoming even more South Australians into their restaurant, brewhouse and distillery. 'We feel a real connection with the town and South Australia by supporting those around us and in turn they support us,' Elisa says. 'Sometimes being far from Italy can feel lonely but being in a small community, we don't feel that anymore – everyone has embraced us as part of their family.'
SBS Australia
04-07-2025
- Business
- SBS Australia
First Nations graduates celebrate Master of Indigenous Business Leadership on mass
The Master of Indigenous Business Leadership program is now in its fifth year, with this year's graduating class includes 17 students from more than 20 communities across the country. It's co-designed and led by Indigenous business leaders, Elders and academics and the degree aims to encourage the next generation and diversify the sector.
SBS Australia
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- SBS Australia
NITV Radio Full 4/07/2025
In today's program on NITV Radio we share the latest in the news, stories from around the Country and yarns with interesting mob. In Victoria the biggest cohort of First Nations graduates from a single degree, The Master of Indigenous Businesss Leadership, have been celebrated at Monash. Celebrated mixed-cultural First Nations artist and curator Lisa Waup shares with us insights into the massive undertaking of the installation Holding Country, featuring a sum of 365 hanging sand bangs. And a conversation with Joel Bray about his most recent dance performance work Monolith. That and more in the full program for NITV Radio.
