If anyone knows the critical role Indigenous chambers of commerce play in empowering First Nations businesses, it's Deborah Barwick.

The proud Gamilaroi woman established the first Aboriginal chamber in Australia – the Mandurah Hunter Indigenous Business Chamber in 2006.

Shortly after in 2009, she started the NSW Indigenous Chamber of Commerce (NSWICC) as the first state peak body for First Nations entrepreneurs, business owners and enterprising community organisations.

Today, Ms Barwick is still at the helm of the NSWICC which now has more than 550 members.

"At the time I noticed there were many barriers to Indigenous businesses winning work, so the feedback that I had been receiving through my work with the Business Enterprise Center, was the need for an organisation for my people to come together and network with each other and share business successes," she said.

"I was familiar with the importance of chamber of commerce's and found that there had never been one independent of government, where it was about Indigenous entrepreneurs and business owners working together.

"So, we launched what was called the Mandurah Hunter Indigenous Business Chamber but within two years we were getting inquiries for membership from way outside the Hunter region, so that's where the New South Wales Indigenous Chamber of Commerce was born.

Ms Barwick said the NSWICC differs from mainstream ones because it is more about building the capacity and capability of First Nations businesses.

She said one of the main goals of the chamber was for its members to achieve whatever aspirations the businesses wanted.

"I want to get a business in my local town that is delivering my services or products to become a big national company one day or even trade internationally. So, our chamber model is very much around building the resources, the tools and offering up support, advice, and mentoring," she told the National Indigenous Times.

"If it's a startup we've got people that can step a business through how they can start up a business and how to do the right research to ensure that there's a need for that business.

"So, our members have access to business advisors and business mentors to step them through their journey and we have a heavy focus for advice on how to be procurement ready."

The NSWICC chief executive, who received the NSW Premier's Award for Excellence for her work in supporting the establishment and growth of Indigenous-owned businesses, said many of the challenges faced by First Nations companies from 20 years ago were still relevant today, including access to finance.

Unfortunately, several Indigenous businesses still must contend with racism.

"There' s still a lot of racism - not among everybody - but there is still that perceived idea about Indigenous businesses and their capability and capacity," she said.

"But what I have found is that they haven't had that exposure to Indigenous revenues and businesses and the fantastic job that they do.

"I have been in this space for 20 years now and some of the Indigenous businesses I've seen are the best in the business."

Ms Barwick, who helped establish the First Australians Chamber of Commerce in 2015, said it was fantastic to see the massive growth of Indigenous businesses over the last two decades.

She also knows a thing or two about running a company, with her business Winya picking up a swag of national and international awards.

In 2018, Winya became the first Australian company to win a United Nations Sustainable Development Goals award.

"The First Nations economy has changed quite dramatically and it's one of the fastest growing sectors," Ms Barwick said.

"But there is so much more that could be achieved… so we are focused on continually working with our communities to identify more and more opportunities to take care of our communities and to take that entrepreneurship forward.

"We're seeing businesses that have been members that started as a little sole trader and are now national companies, so we're doing something right."