Nikky Irvine- Bunbara
Nikky Irvine is the co-Director of Bunbara Pty Ltd, a company based in Western Australia that specializes in supplying process piping products and providing engineering services to the oil, gas and defence industries. Nikky's incredible journey and the achievements of her business, which emphasize supporting and empowering Indigenous enterprises, have earned her place as a finalist in the 34th Annual Indigenous in Business Category.
Q: What was Nikky Irvine's career like before she founded Bunbara?
A: Before founding Bunbara Pty Ltd, Nikky Irvine along with co-Director Pamela Baldwin, spent many years making money for other people, but they were never able to truly give back to the community. By identifying opportunities in the marketplace to improve diversity among Aboriginal people, women, and local sourcing, they found a way to give back and use their knowledge of government, business and technology to enter the marketplace.
Q: What challenges did Bunbara face in its early days?
A: Bunbara faced many challenges in its early days, including the difficulty of being undervalued as a female and Aboriginal business in a male-dominated industry. They were not only questioned for being a female business, but also for being an Aboriginal business. In addition, they faced competition and skepticism from businesses already in the industry that were predominantly owned by overseas companies.
Q: What is Bunbara’s core business and what makes it unique?
A: Bunbara’s core business is the supply of process piping products such as pipes, fittings, flanges, valves, bolts and gaskets, as well as procurement and engineering services to the oil, gas and defence industries. It is unique in that it is an Aboriginal female-owned company with the technical knowledge and industry contacts to successfully balance business growth with giving back to the community.
Q: What are Bunbara’s future growth goals and strategies?
A: Bunbara's future growth objective is to become a service provider that offers integrated services to its clients through its in-house staff. Its strategy includes continuing to build authentic relationships with current and new clients and suppliers in order to establish long term partnerships and exploring market expansion or new segments to reduce dependence on a single market and promote their unique value proposition as a local, Aboriginal and women's business.
Co- Directors of Bunbara, Pamela Baldwin and Nikky Irvine pictured with Joseph Assaf AO, Founder and Chairman of the EBA
