Joint Venture Tool Kit Launches

The Waalitj Hub, with support from the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA), has launched a ‘Joint Venture Took Kit’ to assist Indigenous entrepreneurs in navigating Joint Ventures (JVs). 

The Toolkit has been developed in collaboration with industry organisations, partners, and Indigenous business owners, and is a best practice guide specifically tailored for Joint Ventures where one or more parties is Indigenous. 

Gohar Rind, General Manager of the Waalitj Hub, said the Toolkit had been designed to help inform and educate on what a good Joint Venture should look like. 

“We developed the Toolkit to help empower Indigenous business owners with knowledge and resources on how to set up a Joint Venture well – and in a way that ensures value derived from the JV supports them, their family and community along with the recognition of their cultural IP and competitive advantage,” he said.  

The result of over 18 months of research and work, Mr Rind said the original idea was instigated by his predecessor, Shane Devitt.  

“The Hub had experienced a large amount of JV intensive support cases and could see that this was a much-needed resource,” Mr Rind explained.  

The Waalitj Hub has supported 522 businesses since its inception, and Mr Rind said, unfortunately, that included supporting businesses who have not had a positive Joint Venture experience. 

“We hope this resource will make a difference to a lot of people and set people up for success.  

“Unfortunately, we have seen stories where Indigenous Business Owners have been taken unfair advantage of, and the JV set up has been in no way equitable.  

“This resource is designed to educate Indigenous business owners on what a good JV can look like, to ensure positive outcomes for all parties,” he said. 

The Toolkit is part of broader support being provided by the Waalitj Hub, which also includes a series of free educational Joint Venture workshops as well as ongoing intensive business support through the Hub for Indigenous Business Owners who are either in or interested in establishing a Joint Venture.  

Mr Rind said the Waalitj Hub partnered with Jackson McDonald Lawyers to create the Toolkit and it includes a wealth of resources, including guidance notes, explanatory guides, checklists, as well as practical templates for board, director, and shareholder procedures.  

Supply Nation and other Business Hubs across Australia were also consulted in its development.  

“The Toolkit is designed to help businesses to know what they need to consider, what resources are available to them and where they can go for further support.  

“They include useful legal templates too, such as a Constitution, Shareholders Deed, and a Management Agreement, which a business can pick up and take their own legal practitioner to utilise and adapt to their circumstances.  

“We are effectively giving people the tools to be informed and know what to ask for,” he said. 

The Toolkit has also been designed to help businesses at any stage of their Joint Venture journey and they are also suitable for any type of business or industry. 

“We are really proud of what we have developed and we believe it will make a real difference – knowledge is empowering and we want to support Indigenous businesses to flourish,” Mr Rind said.  

For more information about the Toolkit and to access it here.

The Waalitj Hub supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people wanting to start, grow or sustain their businesses through a combination of in-house business coaching and access to professional support and is supported by the National Indigenous Australians Agency and Corporate partners. Find out more.