Incoming Indigenous Business Australia Director Jessica Bulger says effective governance and strong institutions create opportunities for future generations.

Ms Bulger, a Wiradjuri woman from New South Wales, is a Senior Fellow in the Practice of Management at the Australian National University's College of Business and Economics, where her work focuses on embedding Indigenous perspectives in the Business and Economics curriculum.

She said she would like to see the narrative around Indigenous business continue to shift to one that focuses on excellence.

"We are so used to conversations being about disadvantage and deficit, when the reality is that we've always participated in economies and built businesses," she told The Indigenous Business Review (a National Indigenous Times publication).

"In the course that I teach at ANU, we cover many things, but we start with economies before European contact. We look at trade between northern Australia and Indonesia, and the evidence of commodities exchange, value addition, and sustainable resource management. It's to establish that we were always participants in trade, who understood economy and value, and we always understood governance," she said.

"What we've seen most recently is an unfortunate focus on disadvantage and deficit, I'd like us to be seen not just as participants but as owners, employers, investors, innovators, intellectual equals and institution builders capable of teaching the broader system a thing or two.

"You talk to anybody in the sector, and it's clear that Indigenous businesses are some of the fastest-growing and most community-connected businesses in the world, and that's something all Australians should be proud of. This is business excellence, period."

Ms Bulger said Indigenous Business Australia has a critical role to play in addressing major challenges facing First Nations communities.

"It's not just about economic participation but economic policy change and economic justice, because when you can build wealth on your own terms, that's a step toward self-determination," she said.

"Participation in the economy, and shaping wealth, is not just for me, but for my children and their children, it means creating opportunities that are not just about funding in one program cycle, but opportunities that can be passed on to future generations."

Ms Bulger noted the importance of day-to-day diligence and dedication combined with a long-term vision.

"Effective governance is steady work. Creating the conditions for good decisions to compound over time. The best governance happens quietly over long periods of time. It's about building trust, capability and strong institutions; work measured in decades, not quarters," she said.

Ms Bulger said Indigenous communities hold their organisations accountable to a high standard. Drawing on her experience in Indigenous governance, she said Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations are led by some of the country's most remarkable directors.

"I was honoured to lead the Australian Indigenous Governance Institute, AIGI, which is a small not-for-profit that walks alongside some of the most visionary directors in the country on their governance strengthening journeys. It's not just about learning the legal system and directors' duties but proactively respecting how cultural protocol and community obligation are core to effective community-led governance," she said.

"Effective community-led governance is effective governance, full stop. At AIGI, we visited communities and ran workshops with board members, typically ORIC-registered organisations. What I learned was that those directors are qualified to lead their communities in a special way. Their qualification is a deep love for their community, a deep understanding of their cultural obligations and how to put them into practice, and an awareness that we've governed ourselves for 65,000 years before European contact. Learning the Australian legal system in order to bring it all together and serve their communities is part of what success is.

"That governance memory exists, and with the right support we are seeing successful organisations thrive. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations are governed by some of the most impactful directors in Australia."

Ms Bulger said she and many others had been inspired by the generations before them.

"I think for those of us who grew up witnessing effective community governance, and magnificent eldership, seeing my mum's generation and my grandparents' generation involved in community governance at a time where the partnerships, investment and respect were not there, yet they persevered and created the opportunities I have today. That makes it even more of a privilege to serve on boards like IBA at a time when conversations about agency, empowerment and Indigenous-led development are growing."

Ms Bulger has spent the past 12 years working in the not-for-profit sector with a strong focus on Indigenous leadership.

Prior to AIGI, Ms Bulger contributed to the success of CareerTrackers, a national not for profit, where her work focused on an internship model to grow talent and celebrate the success of Indigenous professionals who go on to lead in community and industry.

Reflecting on her appointment, Ms Bulger said she had been humbled by the response.

"IBA is a very important organisation, and I have been humbled by the number of people reaching out to share their congratulations. I even made my hometown newspaper, The Tumut and Adelong Times," she said.

Upon announcing the appointment of Ms Bulger and the two other new IBA Directors, Bronwyn Dodd and Krista Dunstan, Minister for Indigenous Australians Senator Malarndirri McCarthy said their "diverse and extensive experience will support the important work of IBA and the self-determination and economic empowerment of First Nations families and communities."