Mikaela Jade, CEO and Founder, Indigital has joined iAccelerate as an Indigenous Entrepreneur in Residence this month (August 2019). 

Mikaela is a proud Cabrogal woman (now the Fairfield/Liverpool area) and has a diverse portfolio of expertise through her own Indigital business including the use of drones and 4D mapping. Her work with the United Nations in support of Indigenous Digital Rights and as a supporter of women in STEM has been remarkable. Mikaela also works with Microsoft; and the Tribal Link Foundation as an Indigenous representative. 

In 2017 Mikaela appeared at our first iAccelerate Impact Conference and dazzled the audience with the Indigital storytelling application and the story of how it came about. The following year, Mikaela was invited to be part of a high school STEM festival at the University of Wollongong where she inspired many young people with her ingenious App and as a role model to young female students.

Mikaela and iAccelerate have worked to extend our relationship for some time and we agreed that the time was now right.

We asked Mikaela to join us because she has proven to be such an inspiring entrepreneur, working at the forefront of technology and applying herself to make a difference for indigenous people in Australia and around the world. We believe she has a lot to offer our residents and to teach us about how we reach out to ensure we are doing what we can to involve and support Australians of Aboriginal descent.

Her signature mobile and hololens app, Indigital Storytelling, uses drones, 4D mapping software, image recognition technology and cultural law to bring the world’s cultural sites alive through augmented and mixed reality. 2018 saw Mikaela win several awards for her work including the Veuve Clicquot New Generation Award, the InStyle Women of Style Creative Visionary Award, and Judges Award, and the University of Technology’s Alumni Award for Indigenous Person of the Year.

In 2018-19, together with Microsoft and Shared Path she is mentoring 31 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women from remote communities to build their own technology platforms. Realising that technology is a powerful tool for transformative and widespread impact, the Digital Custodians are building cultural solutions based on artificial intelligence, blockchain and mixed reality. When women are provided the opportunity to combine culture, creativity and technology, the world shifts.

Mikaela is a United Nations Permanent Forum Indigenous Issues delegate, Tribal Link Alumni member (New York), and Fellow of the Australian Rural Leadership Program. Mikaela also joined Microsoft Australia’s Reconciliation Action Plan Advisory Board in 2018 making her an excellent addition to the talent here at iAccelerate. 

Where to find Mikaela:
Twitter
LinkedIn

Welcome to iAccelerate Mikaela!