An Audio Conversation with First Nations Social Enterprise Leaders

This resource is a recorded conversation facilitated by Mundanara Bayles of BlackCard. It brings together Kylie Penehoe, CEO of the National Indigenous Employment and Training Alliance, and Fiona Harrison, founder of Chocolate on Purpose, a certified social enterprise, to reflect on what social enterprise means from a First Nations perspective.

The conversation covers practical and structural challenges, including the difficulty of meeting certification requirements such as reinvesting 50% of revenue into impact causes, the risk of Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) being absorbed into contracts with larger organisations, and the hidden impact that standard business metrics fail to capture. Both women discuss the tension between participating in mainstream social enterprise frameworks and maintaining cultural integrity, governance and self-determination. They also call for greater First Nations representation on the boards of peak bodies and certifying organisations, and for simpler, more accessible processes that better reflect how First Nations businesses actually operate.