A Pulitzer Prize-nominated African-American author and business leader will help to launch a new Charles Sturt University (CSU) Indigenous business research initiative in Sydney on Wednesday 28 May.

Mr Clifton Taulbert will be the guest of the CSU Faculty of Business at events in Sydney, Bathurst and Dubbo this week for the inaugural research symposium to highlight the current Australian Indigenous leadership and entrepreneurship research being conducted at CSU.

Dr Michelle Evans, senior lecturer in leadership at the CSU School for Management and Marketing, said, "This research area focuses on producing fundamental knowledge in the developing area of Australian Indigenous leadership and entrepreneurship, and we're delighted that Mr Taulbert has agreed to assist.

"Mr Taulbert was born in the Mississippi Delta and attended school there during the era of legal segregation. As President and CEO of the Building Community Institute, he is both an entrepreneur and a leader, and is excited to join the University to explore the power of entrepreneurial thinking and personal resolve."

This new research area in the CSU Faculty of Business is in partnership with other university, corporate, not-for-profit and community partners.

"Given the relatively limited knowledge of Australian Indigenous leadership and Indigenous entrepreneurs and their businesses, we seek to better understand the activities, practices, identities, leadership, values and contributions made by Australian Indigenous entrepreneurs," Dr Evans said.

"Our research will have a particular interest in the convergence between entrepreneurship and leadership, and the implications for business performance. Much of the early stage research requires investigation of the barriers and challenges faced by entrepreneurs and leaders in their work practices, and their successes.

"Researchers want to understand how to effectively assist start-up Indigenous entrepreneurs. They will investigate the composition and capacity of the Australian Indigenous business sector, and review leadership development programs. They will also examine what affect business acumen training has on Indigenous entrepreneurial leaders and the performance of their enterprises.

"The symposium also aims to reveal the gaps in our knowledge about Indigenous leadership and entrepreneurship to provide a 'map of the territory' for CSU researchers in the future."The first Australian Indigenous Leadership and Entrepreneurship Research Symposium is at Rydges Sydney Central, 28 Albion Street, Surry Hills, from 12pm to 4.30pm on Wednesday 28 May. The second event is at CSU in Bathurst on Thursday 29 May, and the third is at CSU in Dubbo on Friday 30 May.