To celebrate International Women's Day, the not-for-profit organisation Good Return is helping First Nations female entrepreneurs in the Kimberley achieve economic empowerment.
Good Return is a social purpose organisation that works across the Asian Pacific region to enable women and their families to manage money and build financial security.
With the help of the Kimberley Indigenous women's grassroots initiative Maganda Makers Business club, Good Return hopes to support local women to gain more confidence in their understanding of business.
Maganda Makers is a collaboration between the Indigenous-led organisation Kimberley Jiyigas, the Sir Robert Menzies Foundation for Leadership and Good Return.
The club allows women to share their experiences and the challenges of running a business in remote locations.
Kimberley Jiyigas founder and Good Return's ambassador for the program, Natasha Short, said for many women in the Kimberley the idea of business is brand new.
"It can also be overwhelming to think about their own goals and how to reach them, especially when these women are used to seeing themselves as responsible first for their family and community," she said.
"We are passionate about improving the financial literacy of the members of Maganda Makers as the club helps women see they have the assets, the cultural knowledge, the strength, and the creativity to venture.
"I love the light that comes on people's faces when they learn there's a different way to make money and they can consider opportunity for themselves."
Goombaragin By the Bay owner Kathleen Cox, who runs her small eco-tourism business on the Dampier Peninsula, north of Broome and is a Maganga Makers club member, said networking is vital for First Nations businesswomen.
She recently hosted a women's gathering for Maganga Makers and passed on her knowledge to women who were interested in setting up a business, especially in the tourism industry and cultural tourism.
"I am an advocate for grassroots tourism on country and I believe my people can control their own destiny, create their own autonomy, and develop viable and sustainable businesses and communities in which they live and become financially independent," she said.
"My own business is based on maintaining and caring for country with a minimal footprint and sharing my cultural knowledge. If it is to be, then it's up to me – is my motto - and with Maganda Makers by my side, anything is possible to achieve."
Good Return's Program Director for Indigenous Women's Entrepreneurship, Cindy Mitchell, said recognising the strength and skill of Indigenous women entrepreneurs should be part of every International Women's Day celebration in this country.
"These women are extraordinary in how they manage their lives and their commitment to family and community alongside their businesses - often in very remote locations. Investors need to see the opportunity in these powerful women leaders - I think they have so much to teach us all about the role of business in empowerment and community," she said.