Anniversaries are often a time for reflection. That’s a process that can often trigger change. Such has been the case at the Chamber where we have just ticked over 185 years of serving South Australian businesses.
185 years of service is no mean feat and what strikes me most about our longevity as one of the oldest chambers of commerce in the country, is that just three years after South Australia was founded, the traders, merchants and industrialists of our fair state recognised that they would benefit from collaborating and speaking with a united voice.
During that time, the Chamber has witnessed many critical events that have impacted business and the economy in South Australia including:
Throughout the good and the bad, the Chamber has been a constant, reassuring presence serving South Australian business and it’s fair to say we’ve earned our stripes.
That’s the past, what does the future hold?
We’ve known for some time both anecdotally and through research that many businesses believe we are a part of Government. With the likes of Renewal SA, Invest SA, Defence SA and so on active in our state, it’s understandable.
As much as we respect our friends in Government, as a Not-For-Profit, member-based, independent organisation that often needs to challenge the leaders of the day on matters of policy and legislation, it’s important that we address this confusion. With membership revenue a key to our long-term sustainability, it’s also an important distinction to make as I can’t see too many businesses investing in a Government-run business association.
Secondly, and of no less significance, we are part of a global network of chambers of commerce. An unofficial network that spans towns, regions, cities, states and provinces. Officially, we are part of the Australian Chamber of Commerce (ACCI) who we work closely with on matters of federal policy, like the difficult Closing the Loophole Bill that we will help to unpack for businesses over the weeks ahead. We share with ACCI the star in our logo that is a readily identifiable symbol of state chambers across the country.
Simply put, it’s time to reclaim the word chamber as part of our identity after 24 years as Business SA. From last Friday we became the South Australian Business Chamber, recognising the link to our past when the “Chamber of Commerce” was part of our title and looking ahead with a fresh new logo and renewed ambition.
Recently we undertook market research reviewing our member offering to ensure that we remain relevant and of value to businesses today and into the future.
The strongest message from that research was that we are in the privileged position of holding an extraordinarily high degree of trust from the South Australian business community. It’s something that we don’t take for granted. We will continue to respect and nurture that trust and deliver on our purpose to remove complexity and create opportunity for local business.
We are the largest industry body of businesses in South Australia, representing all sectors and sizes. As we have done now for 185 years, the South Australian Business Chamber will continue to connect, protect, educate and advocate, striving for South Australia to be the best place in the country to do business.
