Austrade enhances international investor engagement with Data-Driven’s Power Platform solution for a Digital Critical Minerals prospectus
The Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade), is an Australian Government agency that helps grow Australia’s prosperity by delivering quality trade and investment services to businesses, accelerates growth in Australia’s tourism sector, and promotes Australia’s education to the world.
To address the challenge of delivering dynamic insights into Australia’s critical mineral projects and attracting international investors and offtakers, Austrade partnered with Data-Driven, to create a solution using Power Apps and Power BI.
This solution replaced static PDFs with an interactive, visually engaging platform that allows investors to explore over 55 investment-ready projects, enhancing decision-making and investor engagement.
By leveraging Microsoft technologies, including Dataverse for secure data management, Austrade has transformed its reporting process, increasing transparency, streamlining internal operations, and strengthening Australia’s position in the global critical minerals market.
Austrade faced challenges in delivering dynamic insights on Australia’s critical mineral prospects to international investors. Previously relying on a PDF document published annually, Austrade needed a more sophisticated solution to showcase the data associated with mineral projects. Recognising these gaps, they worked with Data-Driven, a Microsoft partner, to build a customised solution.
Data-Driven developed a Power App to streamline the data entry process and a Power BI report to deliver an interactive, visually engaging report to investors. The solution was powered by Microsoft technologies, addressing the increasing need for dynamic data visualisation and data-driven decision-making in the critical minerals sector.
The Model-Driven Power App developed by Data-Driven allows Austrade to efficiently capture and manage critical minerals data. By centralising data collection in a user-friendly app backed by Microsoft Dataverse, users can track, update, and manage mineral projects with greater accuracy.
The Power BI report offers an interactive platform for presenting data to investors. Unlike static PDFs, it can be updated as frequently as needed and provides interactivity, ease of use, and dynamic filtering by mineral, project status, and state or territory. This enables investors to explore data and make informed decisions, thereby enhancing Austrade’s investor relations and decision-making processes.
Sam Bissett, Adviser, Investment at Austrade, highlighted the impact of this transformation: “The digital Australian Critical Mineral Prospectus has improved our ability to promote Australia’s critical mineral resources to a global audience. The shift to Power BI has provided data insights and incorporating Power Apps has increased our responsiveness. We’re able to update and deliver key information more efficiently to stakeholders.”
The combination of Power BI and Power Apps has significantly improved Austrade’s capacity to showcase Australia’s critical minerals sector. The dynamic and visually engaging tools provided by this solution ensure project information remains current, increasing opportunities for mining companies to attract investor interest.
Since Austrade partnered with Data-Driven to implement a digital solution using Power Apps and Power BI, they have transformed how they present Australia’s critical minerals opportunities to international investors.
The launch of the Australian Critical Minerals Prospectus, a digital platform featuring over 55 investment-ready projects, has allowed Austrade to showcase detailed project information in an interactive, accessible format. This digital data presentation has not only streamlined their internal processes but has also attracted significant global interest in Australia’s critical minerals sector.
The integration of Power BI has enabled Austrade to provide rich, visual insights into these projects, enhancing investor engagement and decision-making. The result is an efficient, visually compelling platform that positions Austrade to support Australia's growing reputation as a leader in critical minerals, while also helping to attract the international investments needed to develop these industries further.
Minister for Resources, Ms Madeleine King, said: “This new online Australian Critical Minerals Prospectus will help drive investment into the sector.” Minister for Trade and Tourism, Mr Don Farrell said initiatives such as the Power BI Prospectus is an example of its commitment towards building a ‘Future Made in Australia’.
Austrade was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Canberra, Australia. It is a national government agency with the primary goal of promoting Australian trade, investment, and tourism to international markets.
Austrade’s core audience includes international investors, Australian businesses, and government stakeholders. Austrade’s work in critical minerals plays a pivotal role in driving investment into key projects that are vital to Australia’s economic future and the global push towards a net zero transition.
As Mr Don Farrell, Minister for Trade and Tourism, noted, “Australia has all the critical minerals the world needs, and we need investment to get these projects up and running.” The agency’s vision is to create global opportunities for Australian businesses and build resilient, innovative industries.
Learn more about Austrade.
