10th Aboriginal Economic Development Forum (AEDF) hosted by Northern Territory Indigenous Business Network (Alice Springs) 21 October 2021 keynote address delivered by Mr Darren Godwell, i2i Development Global Pty Ltd

1. Trade-led Strategy for
Indigenous Businesses
Mr Darren Godwell
Chief Executive Officer, i2i Development Global
www.i2iglobal.com.au
21st October 2021
1
Aboriginal Economic Development
Forum, October 2021.
Alice Springs

2. Today’s presentation:
a) A New Economic Agenda with Indigenous
Australia.
b) Trade-led strategy for Indigenous commercial
outcomes and Indigenous businesses.
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Godwell/AEDF 21 October 2021

3. An Indigenous Australian
response to Free-trade
Agreements, Export
Markets and Investment
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4. What are Indigenous
Australian Interests in
Trade?
www.i2iglobal.com.au
Protections of Indigenous knowledges.
Commercialisation on agreed terms.
Investment flows to Indigenous owned
enterprises.
Supportive of Indigenous MSMEs as
exporters.
Trade Agreements that advance national
interests & Indigenous Australian
enterprises and industry development.
Godwell/AEDF 21 October 2021

5. Indigenous
Network for
Investment,
Trade and
Export
…unlocking investment and boosting opportunities for
Indigenous Australian enterprises in global markets,
trade, exports and investment.
Founded in 2020 by Prof Kerry
Arabena, Mr Murray Saylor, Mr
Sean Gordon and Mr Darren
Godwell.
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6. IGNITE as a Partner
A complement and supporter to:
• Indigenous chambers of commerce
• Supply Nation
• Indigenous Business Australia
• Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation
• ANZ Leadership Forum (Indigenous)
A partner to:
• Export Council of Australia
• Canadian Council of Aboriginal Business
• Te Taumata
• International Inter-Tribal Trade & Investment
Organisation
IGNITE/DFAT Arabena | Godwell
Godwell/AEDF 21 October 2021

7. i2i Global invested into IGNITE.
- Indigenous led
- Industry based
This is a live example of Indigenous
industry development and capability
building in ways that are private sector
based.
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8. IGNITE’s opportunity
1. IGNITE is seeking Indigenous inputs into Australian
free-trade agreements (FTA).
2. Indigenous inclusions may include protections of
Indigenous knowledges and some items in the
Geographic Indications.
3. Achieving greater Indigenous access to Foreign Direct
Investment.
4. Supporting more Indigenous companies to become
exporters.
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Godwell/AEDF 21 October 2021

9. What does Champagne
have to do with
Indigenous interests in
international trade?
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10. The Champagne Clause.
How did the French argue the case for Champagne?
• French case law
• Dimensions of “uniqueness”
• Terroir and Culture of the People
• Motivations
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Godwell/AEDF 21 October 2021

11. Champagne….a blend of terroir and culture.
Land
Culture
“..is the notion of soil (terroir) that is the basis of the
concept of Appellations d’origine. A terroir is a specific
geographical area. Terroir is based on a system of
interactions between physical and biological environment,
and a set of human factors within a space which a human
community built during its history with a collective
productive knowledge. There are the elements of
originality and typicality of the product.”
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Godwell/AEDF 21 October 2021

12. The Champagne Clause.
Geographic Indications and Indigenous Interests
• Indigenous products, botanicals, foodstuffs, manufactured goods and
medicines could be added to lists of GI’s in respective free-trade
agreements?
• Could GI listing protect Indigenous interests?
• Listing would immediately quantify the value and size of an export market?
• Would Indigenous interests be better served in future commercialisation,
investment and trade?
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13. “Australian
researchers find
native grasses
could be grown
for mass
consumption”
The Guardian (November 2020)
“Native millet, or panicum, turned out
to be the best all-rounder: easy to grow
and harvest, easy to turn into flour and
“significantly more nutritious” than
wheat. Native millet is also gluten free.”
Is this the next quinoa? A
global superfood? Global
market value +$US2bn?
How does Australia assert
its national interests with
Indigenous interests?
A trade-led strategy that
seizes export market
opportunities.
GI inclusions of Indigenous
botanicals in FTA’s.
Australia’s 16th Rural R&D
corporation? - “Australian
Indigenous Botanicals
Authority”

14. DFAT Industry Briefing
Indigenous Diplomacy Agenda
Trade and Economic Policy
16 June 2021
• While we wanted to take forward our Business Charter, we
deliberately avoided the creation of a ‘DFAT Indigenous
Trade Advisory Panel’ because it places the department at
the centre of the conversation.
• Instead, in 2019, we invited several companies to a
workshop at DFAT to explore:
• The opportunities that are available to the
Indigenous Australian business sector in overseas
markets and international economic fora.
• The ways in which DFAT and our portfolio can
support Indigenous companies in overseas markets
– noting it is ultimately up to the Indigenous
business sector to organise among themselves to
pursue their own priorities, on their own merits,
according to market conditions.
• One of the companies, i2i Global, took up the challenge and
mobilised a team of people who ultimately created the
Indigenous Network for Investment, Trade and Export
(IGNITE) - an industry body for industry, that is independent
of government, much like other industry bodies.
• DFAT has invited IGNITE to partner with us to develop a
trade-led strategy for achieving the Indigenous Diplomacy
Agenda (Pillar 2).
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16. www.i2iglobal.com.au 16
An IGNITE and Export Council of Australia (ECA)
pilot program. Indigenous companies from 7
Member economies of APEC.
May-September 2021.
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17. What are the new market opportunities for
Indigenous Peoples in this century?
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18. Industry opportunities for the Century Ahead
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Large Scale
Renewables
$10bn
Extractives
$30bn
Carbon
Markets
$20bn
Indigenous
Botanicals
$30bn
Tourism
$250m
Intellectual
Property
$500m
Prospective
economic value
for Indigenous
interests
$100bn
Indigenous
economy?
Godwell/AEDF 21 October 2021

19. Where to from here…
Trade-led strategy
advancing national
and Indigenous
interests through free-
trade agreements.
01
A Comprehensive
Indigenous Economic
Agenda (ACIEA).
Industry led.
02
Industry Partners and
Indigenous peoples as
the leaders and
drivers of commerce,
trade and export
opportunity.
03
Indigenous Partners to
unlock private sector
investment, attracting
greater inflows of
investment capital.
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20. Recap on today’s presentation:
a) A new century, new opportunities in new markets.
b) Pioneer a trade-led strategy for commercial
outcomes.
c) A Comprehensive Indigenous Economic Agenda
(ACIEA)
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21. i2i Development
Global Pty Ltd
• www.i2iglobal.com.au
• info@i2iglobal.com.au
• //www.linkedin.com/company/i2iglobal
• Twitter: i2i_Global