Entrepreneurship and self-employment among Indigenous people

Despite being one of the least examined areas of minority entrepreneurship, as well as the vast unrepresentation of Indigenous populations in the Australian entrepreneurship landscape, contemporary Indigenous entrepreneurship is improving and its resurgence in development and substance can help highlight not only opportunities, but barriers to Indigenous entrepreneurs such as chronic lack of economic and human capital, cultural and social constraints, historical mistrust and conflict with the dominant culture and society, as well as government policy and racial prejudice. In this article we provide an overview of Indigenous entrepreneurship by embracing an emergent enquiry approach by including case vignettes to identify specific nuances associated to Australian Indigenous entrepreneurs and real-time strategies that can be employed to further improve the growth and sustainability of these businesses through targeted and holistic initiatives. We further identify interventions to explicate ways to encourage Indigenous people into entrepreneurship, thereby transitioning from unemployment to entrepreneurship and self-employment.