Karratha Enterprise Hub

Small business is the lifeblood of any economy. Developing a diverse and competitive small to medium business sector is crucial to achieving sustainable economic growth and providing a diversity of career choices and services for Pilbara residents. 

We worked closely with the Business Centre Pilbara in 2016 to secure funding from the State Government to establish a co-working and innovation hub in Karratha to deliver greater access to affordable office space and mentoring support to small businesses and start-ups. The project has now reached completion and the final acquittal and report was completed during 2021-22. This reporting process is an important step in evaluating the outcomes of the project’s supported by the Commission. 

The Karratha Enterprise Hub opened its doors in 2018 following the purchase and subsequent renovation and fit-out of the 18 Hedland Place property, which is located in the heart of Karratha’s CBD.

 The new Hub offers co-working spaces, communal areas for networking and to encourage interaction between users, upgraded IT network and internet bandwidth, and individual offices available for local small businesses to lease at an affordable rate. 

Since opening, the Hub has held more than 20 events for small business owners including pop-up markets, leadership workshops and accounting seminars. The events aim to bring small business owners together to learn, network and share experiences. 

In March 2022, there were a total of 20 tenants located at the Hub, with a further 17 regularly using the facility on a casual basis. Since opening, more than 110 businesses have used the Enterprise Hub, ten of which are local Aboriginal businesses. 

A number of businesses based at the Hub have gone on to great success, including Cheeditha Energy, a 50 per cent owned Pilbara Aboriginal Business, which started in the co-working space and now permanently leases an office to accommodate its six employees. 

 The Karratha Enterprise Hub is a community asset, owned and managed by a not-for-profit, and will continue to provide support for those businesses looking to establish themselves or co-locate with other entrepreneurs.