Last week Yaanma was certified as an Indigenous majority owned supplier by Supply Nation. Supply Nation was established in 2009 to connect members of Australia’s leading brands and government with Indigenous businesses across the country. Supply Nation is the first and pre-eminent supplier diversity organisation in Australia. To fulfil targets in the Indigenous Procurement Policy, government has mandated that buyers consult Supply Nation’s Indigenous Business Direct to access Indigenous businesses.

This is a significant achievement for Yaanma and the timing was crucial as certification is a pre-requisite for participation in the annual conference, Connect 2016 – Innovation for Impact, on the 2nd May 2016 at the ATP, Redfern. The Conference was an opportunity to learn more about the Australian Government’s Indigenous Procurement Policy and benchmarking supplier diversity success, and to hear from large Australian government agencies about how they have increased spending on Indigenous businesses.

The Trade show was attended by around 150 Indigenous suppliers showcasing their products and services to approximately 750 prospective buyers from the Supply Nation membership. The Trade show was Yaanma’s first marketing event and Marcia, Mel and Ben proudly unveiled our banners and capability statement to the public.