First Nations businesses and supporters were celebrated at the Supplier Diversity Awards on Thursday night in Sydney.

Part of Connect 2025, hosted by Supply Nation on Gadigal land, the Awards honoured winners and finalists in a large range of categories.

Tammy O'Connor of KingKira was named Indigenous Businesswoman of the Year.

Accepting the Award on her behalf, her daughter Shakira Grasso said she "could not be prouder".

"What she has created for our family and for our community… is incredible… She has changed so many people's lives," she said.

Ms Grasso praised the accomplishments of all First Nations businesses.

"As a young Indigenous woman it makes me incredibly proud to see the work you are doing… setting a really high standard for future generations," she said.

Steve Fordham of Blackrock Industries was honoured with the Sam Tjengala Reuben Award, supported by EV, recognising his outstanding performance as Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

Mr Fordham spoke about his journey from tough times to building a successful business, and encouraged big business to back Indigenous enterprises and communities.

He shared the story of a man who he'd helped into employment after being "rock bottom", who told him: "For the first time I have a sense of purpose."

"I want to keep planting as many of those seeds as possible," Mr Fordham said.

"To all the large corporates here today, I want to say that this is the chance to plant seeds for greater opportunity… It's about real change and real opportunities.

"I learned something a long time ago; the government will not close the gap for our people, we will do it ourselves."

Hardy Fencing Australia received the Award for Certified Supplier of the Year, sponsored by Telstra.

The Procurement Professional of the Year Award, sponsored by Killara Services, went to Matthew Plichta from Rio Tinto.

WV Technologies was celebrated as the Indigenous Exporter of the Year and the Supply Diversity Partnership of the Year Award went to Djinda Produce and the Cater Care Group.

It was a huge night for TVN On-Country. The company was acknowledged with the Registered Supplier of the Year Award, sponsored by BP, and also the prestigious Dr Dean Jarrett Award recognising Outstanding Impact.

The Indigenous Business Review will feature more reports to come on the achievements of these exceptional award-winning Indigenous businesses.