Bidi Facility Services (Bidi FS) is a nationally accredited Aboriginal owned and operated Project and Facility Maintenance company. Led by proud Yued Noongar man, Joel O’driscoll, Bidi FS Operates from their head office in Melville and their regional office in Bunbury, Western Australia, servicing primarily Perth and Peel, along with some regional parts of WA.
Joel has been with our Waalitj Business Hub for 4 years, and it has been amazing to see how him and his business have grown. As the Business Development Director at Bidi FS, Joel has future goals to grow Bidi FS and supporting opportunities for other First Nations businesses. “I want to keep pushing the business, keep creating opportunities for Indigenous people and suppliers as well” he said.
With the support of the Alcoa Foundation, the Waalitj Hub hosts Business Builders in the Peel and Upper Southwest to support Indigenous business owners and entrepreneurs to network with industry leaders and discuss local collaboration and procurement opportunities in the area. .
Joel, a regular at our Business Builders, spoke about his experience at the events and how they have supported his business, “Since coming to the Business Builders, we have made really good connections with clients that have significantly increased our revenue and have been rewarded long term contracts”.
These Business Builder events are a platform for Indigenous entrepreneurs to network, meet procurers and explore new business opportunities by providing a direct link to industry and corporate leaders. By creating culturally safe spaces for networking, learning, and collaboration, these events have helped expose new pathways and opportunities for growth for First Nations businesses.
“It’s not just one industry as well, it could be local council, it could be government, it could be industrial – Alcoa, Wesfarmers. There’s a lot of opportunity out there in different sectors and different industries. I definitely recommend it,” said Joel.
Joel talked about seeing firsthand how meaningful these connections can be for a business and how it can evolve into long term business opportunities.
“We have secured a contract with Wesfarmers, that has been ongoing for 2 years now, supplying them with cribs huts and consumables for all their shutdown work.
Another client that we met at one of the Business Builders has been working with the Department of Finance. They have awarded a lot of work also. It’s good to see that these events are working and are giving indigenous businesses a go.”
The Waalitj Hub supports First Nations people wanting to start, grow or sustain their businesses through a combination of in–house business coaching and access to professional support. For more information visit here
