The Exchange Business Activation program celebrated as a success

The first tranche of The Exchange Business Activation program has been declared a success following its conclusion.

An initiative of Narrabri Shire Council, the TEBA program kicked off in January 2022 and has provided networking, business circle, learning lunches and professional advisory support sessions.

During the program which has spanned 2022 and 2023, 680 participants have attended 58 events.

The initiative was funded by the Commonwealth and NSW governments, in association with Narrabri Shire Council, The Exchange Narrabri and The University of New England SMART Region Incubator.

The joint venture was designed to continue economic recovery in the region by providing space and expert support for local businesses.

Council’s small business liaison Gilly Goddard thanked participants and partnering organisations for their role in the success of TEBA over the past 18 months.

“To our guest speakers, mentors, workshop facilitators, professional advisory providers, TEBA attendees and program participants – thank you for giving up your time, lending your expertise, and continuously showing up,” Ms Goddard said.

“I’m incredibly proud of what this program has and will continue to achieve. It’s proven that collaboration and partnership achieve much greater outcomes than when doing it alone – we must connect and dare to do things differently”.

Throughout the program, guest speakers have spanned a range of industries and areas.

Local success stories have been placed in the spotlight with previous participants including Will Childs, Nick McClure, Jenny Mapstone, Katrina White, Penny Ashby, Shanna Whan, Georgia Michell, Ali Smith, Katie Watson, Jocellin Jansson, Darrell Tiemens, Jamilah Kidd and Tristan Petty among some of the Narrabri Shire residents who have given their time and shared their skills.

The program ended with a special celebration featuring Grace Brennan, founder of Buy From The Bush.

TEBA program manager Kate Kahl thanked the program’s supporters following the conclusion of the initiative.

Mrs Kahl’s grant-funded role as program manager ended following the completion of the project.

“I think the true beauty of this program is the collaborative effort of bringing everyone together to either achieve a shared desired result, or to be inspired by each other,” she said.

“It’s only if we all believe in our shire’s business community and the future of the region that a program like this would be supported not only financially, but also by people showing up and taking part in what is being offered.”

Other speakers on the night included Ross Murray from UNE SMART Region Incubator and The Exchange’s chief executive officer and founder Jillian Kilby.

Following the success of TEBA, Narrabri Shire Council has announce that in partnership with The Exchange, TEBA 2.0 will launch in late 2023.