INDIGI LAB CEO says Indigenous Procurement Policy can help curve bias in the STEM sector
By Joseph Quesnel
Luke Briscoe, 39, is an Indigenous Australian business leader on a mission to expand Indigenous involvement in the national economy, especially through STEM (STEM is an acronym for the fields of science, technology, engineering and math).
Over the last few decades, there has been a surge in Indigenous ownership of small businesses in Australia, which is changing the face of business.
Briscoe is the founder and CEO of INDIGI LAB, a Sydney-based Indigenous owned and operated business that aims to create innovative projects for social and environmental change through digital culture. Briscoe says the larger objective is to, “create a future where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are leading in science, technology and digital innovation.”
He noticed the gaps in employment and opportunities in STEM fields for Indigenous Australian people. The business organization works on providing opportunities for Indigenous students to be exposed to STEM education. In 2017, the organization helped bring 120 Indigenous students to the annual Indigenous Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) camp.
“Indigenous Australian contributions to the Australian economy is in the billions, but no one talks about our annual growth,” said Briscoe, in an interview. Briscoe is a Kuku Yalanji man from Far Northern Australia and is recognized culturally as a “a custodian of the reef and rainforest in the local area.”
A 2016 report by PwC’s Indigenous Consulting (PIC) and PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting (Australia) revealed that Indigenous businesses (all self-employed individuals, enterprises and trusts combined) contributed about $2.2 billion to $6.6 billion to the Australian economy, which amounted to about 0.1 per cent to 0.4 per cent of the total GDP of Australia.
At present, Indigenous leaders and politicians are recognizing the massive problem of “passive welfare dependency” among Indigenous Australians and the negative effects this has on their communities.
He was quick to add that this growth potential for in a specific area.
“I think in the global push for (environmental) sustainability, Indigenous Australian business (if cultural rights are protected and maintained) can be a leading force in green business.”
Briscoe said that the Indigenous Australian business sector can be leading in best practices and clean energy supply chains.
Concepts of environmental stewardship, of course, are not foreign to Indigenous communities in Australia, as they are in line with their traditional values. Briscoe said that his people have sustained the pristine areas of his childhood for thousands of years.
As a child, Briscoe said he grew up surrounded by nature. He lived on the coast in a small town called Innisfail, which is located in the Australian state of Queensland. “My childhood memories were of swimming and fishing. I find that I’m connect with both the salt and fresh water areas,” he said.
Briscoe attributed to his later involvement in innovation to his small-town roots.
He said that growing up in his town, “You would see people working two or sometimes even three jobs. I think what I learnt from living in a small community was how much small towns thrive on supporting each other. You would see cane farmers selling fruit to the local grocer and likewise with fisherman. So, as a child I was surrounded by innovation which was built from necessity and it stuck with me as an adult,” he said, proudly.
He said that when he got older and his father passed away in his teens, he did not have any thoughts of university as he was expected to find a job. Briscoe said he was looking for a first job that tourism was a booming industry where he lived. He decided to become a chef. After that did not last, he took up a job in music sales and developed a passion for art, music and film. He wanted to combine the three interests, so he studied screen and media and then re-located to Brisbane and later he would move to Sydney. He said he is now studying for a master’s degree in digital communications and culture.
He then would later work as a youth worker where he developed a national Indigenous media employment program. The program would turn out to be every successful. It created more First Nations jobs in the screen and media sector.
Briscoe would also hold positions at the Australia Council for the Arts and National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples, the main representative body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. He would also work for the National Indigenous Television (NITV), an Australian television channel that broadcasts programming produced largely by Indigenous Australians.
Although INDIGI LAB is still at the start-up stage, he said, they have been able to assemble a team of highly-skilled experts across many fields of science, technology, and public policy. They have been able to develop business opportunities and enabled their brand to be very strong in the STEM sector.
Although he said Indigenous Australian entrepreneurs still face bias about their role in science jobs, he said that government initiatives like the Indigenous procurement policy program are helping Indigenous firms succeed in the business world. These procurement policies are incentivizing business firms to employ Indigenous firms in their supply chains.
However, still feels that Indigenous Australian businesses need more help in creating start-up firms. Individual entrepreneurial initiatives without procurement support are the goal.
The main obstacle facing Indigenous businesses, he said, was in financing these independent start-ups without government help. Briscoe said one way to encourage Indigenous entrepreneurship in all fields is to host more business conferences and summits where lucrative business relationships can be made.