Proud Dunghutti woman Carol Vale says the rise of First Nations female entrepreneurs is creating economic empowerment for Indigenous families and communities.

Ms Vale started Murawin - a consultancy firm committed to social justice and empowering First Nations communities and other marginalised groups - in 2014 with her late partner Greg.

"We wanted to contribute to long-term change for Indigenous Australians particularly where there are injustices and we hope that our work contributes to change," she told National Indigenous Times.

"We have grown from a single consultant business to now having over 25 staff nationally. We will always work in the Indigenous space but more recently we have been working in the international and multicultural arena, which is exciting."

The 59-year-old, who has connections to the Gumbaynggirr and Anaiwan peoples, said it was exciting seeing so many First Nations women becoming more prominent in business.

"The emergence of the Indigenous business model is exciting, not only does it have to have the rigour, systems and processes of Western constructed business models but we get to bring into our way of working cultural elements that reflect our Indigeneity and all that is important to us as First Nations people," she said.

"There is a deep desire amongst First Nations female entrepreneurs to give back to our communities and to create strong lines of economic empowerment in our families."

Ms Vale said she faced significant challenges when starting the Brisbane-based business, some of which inspired her to keep going.

"We not only have to contend with the challenges that all businesses face in relation to market response, managing cash flow and finding the right people for your business, but we also have to deal with racism, lack of trust that Aboriginal businesses can provide good quality services, patronising attitudes of some clients, and an attitude that commercial value of the Indigenous business and its services is not as good as their non-Indigenous counterparts when in actual fact it has to be superior to overcome the negativity and discrimination we face as First Nations people and business owners," she said.

"Once we saw the power of business to create a lifestyle that suited us and our family, Greg and I worked tirelessly to overcome the challenges and barriers, and literally when one door closed, we just moved to the next one."

Ms Vale's dedication and commitment to her business and the determination to help others has seen her nominated for Supply Nations Indigenous Businesswoman of the Year.

The co-founder and chief executive of Murawin is also up for a Dr Dean Jarrett Award which recognises outstanding impact.

She has fond memories of meeting Dr Jarrett, who was the first Indigenous man to earn his PhD from the University of Technology Sydney's Business School.

"Should I be successful with the award, it will be an amazing and wonderful recognition of the very hard work that I have put into growing our company over the past decade," she said.

"It will be an acknowledgement that no one does anything in silo and that there are always incredible people in one's corner, including my late partner Greg, who was my business partner and life partner and Murawin would not be where it is today without his dedication and commitment to our company and both of our deep desire to work towards overcoming injustices.

"I had the pleasure of knowing Dr Jarrett and was in the same year he did the Murra program and very aware of his research into the potential of First Nations businesses which I believe many of us still draw on today in the way we engage in our business journey."

Ms Vale said any young budding female entrepreneurs out there thinking about starting up a company should not be intimidated by the male-dominated business environment.

"Go for it," she said. "Do your research about your product and be very clear about the issue you are trying to solve, ultimately business is about other people and one's desire to make a change about an issue that is dear to them."