Yunaga Civil & Earth

Yunaga Civil & Earth Pty Ltd (YCE) was originally a join venture (JV) that was intended to build capacity and capability for a sustainable civil and earth business. Unfortunately, this did not eventuate. Following the JV failure, ServeGate was approached to re-establish the business objectives of YCE – the generate sustainable Indigenous employment in the Hunter Region.

ServeGate and the YCE CEO explored options to meet the intent of the original JV through:

  • Engaging with the Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet’s Indigenous Policy Branch (now the National Indigenous Australians Agency – NIAA) to explore avenues of support for YCE
  • Engaging with Rio Tinto and Glencore Mines to discuss contracting opportunities around their Hunter Region operations
  • Working with NIAA head office and their Newcastle office to work out the process of applying for grant funding application
  • Working with PricewaterhouseCoopers Indigenous Consultancy (PIC) and providing input into the Business Plan supporting the NIAA grant application and Indigenous Business Australia (IBA) working capital loan for YCE
  • Engaging a civil and infrastructure business to contract the YCE equipment acquired under the grant
  • Successfully negotiating a short notice limited working capital loan when the IBA proposal was declined

ServeGate continues to provide pro-bono support to YCE’s directors, including:

  • Governance advice around YCE’s ownership restructure
  • Assistance to YCE’s solicitors on a legal matter against YCE’s previous joint venutre partner to recover financial records
  • Liaison with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) on behalf of the directors of YCE to resolve outstanding JV lodgements
  • Mentoring YCE’s directors on their corporate governance responsibilities
  • Mentoring YCE’s directors on the separation of Board and management responsbilities
  • Continuing business development activities and mentoring to increase revenue sources for YCE
  • Mentoring YCE’s CEO on developing and sustaining supplier and customer relationships
  • Assisting YCE’s directors in their communications with the office of the Minister for Indigenous Australians, NIAA and IBA
  • Providing day-to-day support to YCE’s CEO on Business Plan implementation, including asset maintenance, pricing, supplier negotiations, management of machine operators and customer liaison

With ServeGate’s assistance, YCE has:

  • Obtained an NIAA Grant for civil and earth machinery
  • Enhanced the CEO’s operational management experience
  • Established sufficient trading history to apply for Working Capital funding
  • Grown the directors’ skill and experience in corporate governance
  • Established and developed relationships with potential customers, suppliers and collaborators

YCE is now getting close to becoming a self-sufficient business.