Across Western Australia, First Nation entrepreneurs are building businesses grounded in culture, community and purpose. Yet while talent and ambition are abundant, access to networks, capital, culturally safe mentoring and long-term support is not.
Through Catalyst funding from Meshpoints, supported by Spacecubed and Lotterywest, Saltwater Country Ltd, in partnership with Make It Happen HQ and a network of specialist collaborators, delivered the pilot Equalizer: First Nation Entrepreneurship Mentorship and Coaching Program, a 12-month, culturally grounded model designed to support Indigenous founders to start and grow sustainable businesses.
Addressing the Access Gap
“The Equalizer was born from a simple truth: talent and ambition are everywhere, but access isn’t,” explains Adele Peek, Saltwater Country Vice Chairperson and Founder of Make It Happen HQ. “We kept seeing First Nations entrepreneurs with strong ideas and real traction, yet facing barriers that weren’t about capability, they were about navigating systems that weren’t designed with them in mind.”
Equalizer was created to shift that imbalance. The program combined practical business support with consistent, trusted mentoring over 12 months, deliberately moving beyond short-term workshops to provide depth, accountability and culturally safe guidance.
Delivered primarily across Broome, the Kimberley and Perth, with a strong digital component to accommodate remote founders, the pilot received 45 applications and selected a cohort of 20 Indigenous entrepreneurs. Of those, 80% remained actively engaged throughout the funded period.
A 12-Month Model Built for Real Growth
The Equalizer model was structured around one-to-one mentoring, group workshops, peer hack sessions and access to specialist partners in areas including e-commerce, branding, finance, productivity and legal services.
Over the 12 months, the program delivered:
- 12 group workshops (80% average attendance)
- ~150 one-to-one mentoring sessions
- Approximately 140 hours of direct coaching
- 10 peer hack sessions for accountability and collaboration
- Access to co-working and innovation hubs
- Three new e-learning modules developed through Peek Performance
“The 12-month model is deliberate because business growth doesn’t happen in a workshop, it happens in the messy middle, over time,” Adele says. “The longer runway gives founders space to set a plan, test it, adapt, and keep progressing through the realities of running a business alongside family and community obligations.”
Participants strengthened business fundamentals, refined value propositions, improved financial literacy, clarified branding and marketing strategies, and built structured 12-month action plans. Just as importantly, they gained confidence and community.
Around 85% of participants reported increased confidence in their ability to manage or grow a business. Approximately 88% reported feeling more connected to a supportive entrepreneurial network rather than “doing it alone.”
As one participant shared, “Before Equalizer, my business was just an idea in my head. Now I have a plan, a structure and people I can ask for help. It doesn’t feel like I’m doing it on my own anymore.”
A Culturally Safe, First Nations-Led Approach
A defining strength of Equalizer was its First Nations-led design and wraparound support model. Collaboration between remotely based organisations like Saltwater Country and structured delivery support from Make It Happen HQ ensured the program was culturally safe while also connecting founders into WA’s broader innovation ecosystem.
“Collaboration is core to the program’s impact,” Adele explains. “This partnership approach ensures the program is culturally safe, accessible, and genuinely responsive to community needs, while also opening doors to mentors, industry, and pathway opportunities.”
The pilot also strengthened the capability of delivery partners, deepening cultural intelligence and fostering two-way learning across WA’s ecosystem. Coworking hubs, community organisations and business support providers are now better connected to First Nation founders and have a tested framework for engagement.
Beyond individual business outcomes, the program has begun shifting narratives around entrepreneurship in regional and remote WA. Participants are emerging as visible role models for young people and community members, demonstrating that entrepreneurship can be culturally grounded, community-focused and commercially viable.
From Pilot to Scalable Model
The Catalyst grant enabled Equalizer to move from concept to a documented, evidence-informed program model. The 12-month structure, mentoring framework and digital learning pathway have now been refined and prepared for future cohorts.
“The Equalizer is a proven model that’s ready to scale across WA,” Adele says. “Rather than starting from scratch, partners can engage us to deliver tailored impact programs using a hybrid model that increases reach across regional and remote WA and ensures First Nations people are centred in both design and delivery.”
Next steps include establishing an alumni network, expanding digital pathways through Peek Performance, launching shorter eight-week sprint programs for early-stage founders, and securing multi-year funding to scale the model sustainably.
Equalizer demonstrates how ecosystem investment can create long-term, culturally grounded impact. By prioritising depth over scale in the pilot cohort, the program built trust, strengthened business capability, and laid the foundations for a scalable First Nation entrepreneurship model in WA.
Through support from Meshpoints, Equalizer has helped ensure that WA’s innovation ecosystem becomes more inclusive, more connected, and more representative of the communities it serves.
Meshpoints is now inviting new initiatives through our Promotion & Storytelling Challenge, supporting projects that lift the visibility, confidence and credibility of WA’s innovation ecosystem. Expressions of interest are open until March 25 — explore the Challenge and apply here.
