Proud Noongar man and business owner, Gino Matera, is celebrating a major milestone in the growth of his company, Keipa Water, a 100% Aboriginal-owned business delivering bottled water and hydration products across Western Australia.
Gino has seen steady growth in Keipa Water, servicing a range of retail and corporate customers, providing them not only with water but also hydration products, such as their Hydr8 electrolyte sachets, and their new natural hydration electrolyte icy poles.
Keipa Water have recently moved from a 250m² warehouse to a 1,000m² facility in Wangara, marking a significant step forward for the business.
“We’ve got a major opportunity and that gave us the chance to expand,” said Gino. “It is much better here. It’s four times more space and offices. We didn’t even have an office before, I used to be in an old cool room.”
The new facility has allowed Keipa water to consolidate operations, improve efficiency, and plan for future product expansion.“It means that we can expand in terms of bringing everything under one house, one roof,” Gino said.
Dianne, a member of the Keipa Water team, said the new facility has allowed them to grow at a much faster rate, “This premises has allowed us to quadruple our growth,” she said. “Our proudest achievement is the growth. Gino’s very good at operational and developing the product.”
“Now, by having what we have, it’s giving us an opportunity to go and explore more and put investment into other products,” Dianne said. “We’ll have a much bigger range, which means that the growth now can be exponential.”
Through the Waalitj Hub, Indigenous businesses, like Keipa Water, have access to a wide range of free services. Some of these services include office facilities, mentoring from business coaches, industry connections, and independent professional services. Clients can also receive specialised support in key business areas like tendering, marketing, and legal.
Gino spoke about the importance of having programs like the Waalitj Hub, “The biggest thing is that they give people a start,” he said. “They actually allow you to take an idea and make it into a business. They give you the right tools, the right crew, the right people. There are lawyers, web developers, all the stuff you need to make your idea a reality.”
The Keipa Water’s team said they are proud of how far the business has come.
“We’ve come a long way in that short period of time.”
“We’ve got much more strength now, and we’re looking forward to being more out there.” said Gino.
Looking ahead, Gino has ambitions for Keipa Water, “I see us expanding, having a lot more ranges than what we’re doing at the moment and I would like to think that one day, we will be the largest water bottle supplier in WA, at least.”
The Waalitj Hub supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people wanting to start, grow or sustain their businesses through a combination of in-house business coaching and access to professional support and is supported by the National Indigenous Australians Agency and Corporate partners. Find out more.
