Indigenous Social Entrepreneurship: The Gumatj Clan Enterprise in East Arnhem Land

Abstract

Despite a continuing commitment by the Australian Federal Government to develop entrepreneurial business opportunities for Indigenous people as a strategy to reduce their socio-economic disadvantage, there is scant documentation of rigorous assessments of sustainable Aboriginal enterprises. This article delineates an Indigenous social entrepreneurial business that is gaining traction in the Gove Peninsula of East Arnhem Land of Australia. A conceptual framework focuses attention to the phenomenon of visionary leadership for fostering value creation, innovation and social capital, to create a pathway for alleviating poverty and enhancing the socio-economic environment of an Indigenous community. An appreciation of the role of existing social structures, the imperative of operating at the local level and the importance of cultural heritage are vital components in the pursuit of economic and social goals of sustainable Indigenous social entrepreneurship.

Network position and identity: A language-based perspective on strategizing

“…From an identity-constructing perspective, the commonplace problematizing of the position of Indigenous Australians within contemporary society affects how Indigenous businesses are perceived by other network actors. Indeed, many establishment commentators in Australia now advocate economic development, specifically engagement with the mainstream economy through employment and Indigenous businesses ownership, as a pathway to improving livelihoods in Indigenous communities (Pearson, 2000;Pearson & Helms, 2013).…”

The Role of Social and Institutional Contexts in Social Innovations of Spanish Academic Spinoffs

“…According to these authors, governments use various mechanisms to stimulate social entrepreneurship. Firstly, governments may design and create different legal and fiscal frameworks to promote social innovations [77]. This legal and fiscal framework to protect and stimulate firms that develop social innovations [78,79] is materialized through mechanisms such as laws, decrees, and directives and taxes.…”

Resistance and integration: Working with capitalism at its fringes

“…Many argue that business activities and entrepreneurship in indigenous communities differ fundamentally from similar activities in other societies, and that they should be approached conceptually in a different way (Peredo & Anderson, 2006;Peredo & McLean, 2010). Others favor their conceptualization in a less differentiated way, for example, as a special form of social enterprise (Overall, Tapsell & Woods, 2010;Pearson & Helms, 2013). Nevertheless, drawing from indigenous values and ways of life, the literature on indigenous enterprises indicates important distinctions.…”