Supporting Aboriginal business growth in the Territory

ICN NT has joined forces with Power and Water Corporation in the Northern Territory to develop the NT Aboriginal Content Finder (NTACF), an interactive map that uses ICN’s supplier database to find Aboriginal businesses and those with a high number of Aboriginal employees.

The database is a result of longstanding partnership between Power and Water and ICN NT, with both organisations keen to support and built the capacity of Aboriginal companies.

More than 200 business, with their contact details and capability, are listed on the map.

It supports Power and Water’s Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), giving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people the same economic opportunities as other Territorians.

“As part of our RAP, one of the actions identified was to investigate opportunities to incorporate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander supplier diversity within our organisation,” Power and Water Chief Procurement Officer Justin McKenzie said in a press release.

“The Aboriginal Content Finder is the result of many years of work with ICN NT, and we are proud to make this resource available to help support local Aboriginal businesses.”

Power and Water is a major contributor to the NT economy, spending about $600 million a year on goods and services, with 90 per cent of this staying local. In the 2018/19 financial year, the utility company awarded $14.5 million in contracts to Aboriginal businesses, as well as an extra $11.8 million in low-value off-contract work.

ICN NT Chief Executive Kevin Peters said Power and Water Corporation’s Northern Territory spend had a “major impact on our economy and they are to be commended for their commitment to grow Aboriginal participation in the workforce”.

“As a partner in the Aboriginal Content Finder initiative, ICN is also pleased to be able to promote Aboriginal business capability to enable their inclusion in tender opportunities.

Kevin said ICN was a natural partner for the Power and Water initiative as it already has a powerful and extensive online supplier database, ICN Gateway.

“We already have a demonstrated effectiveness in connecting local suppliers with major projects and contractors, in both construction and operational phases,” he said.

“We encourage businesses wanting to find an Aboriginal business in the Northern Territory to access this fantastic resource.”

For more information, go to the Northern Territory Aboriginal Content Finder.