SPOTLIGHT: Setting up SMEs for success, with Downer Defence’s Ed Groch and Ranjan Rajagopal

Joint-capabilities
|
By: Robyn Tongol

In this episode of the Defence Connect Spotlight podcast, Ed Groch - Indigenous Engagement Manager, and Ranjan Rajagopal - General Manager Commercial at Downer Defence, join host Liam Garman to unpack Downer Defence’s SME incubation model and the hard lessons learned that have helped shape it.

In this episode of the Defence Connect Spotlight podcast, Ed Groch - Indigenous Engagement Manager, and Ranjan Rajagopal - General Manager Commercial at Downer Defence, join host Liam Garman to unpack Downer Defence’s SME incubation model and the hard lessons learned that have helped shape it.


This episode dives deep into the unique challenges that Indigenous businesses face entering defence industry, and provides some insights on the barriers that face all SMEs. From their own experiences and lessons learned, Ed and Ranjan discuss the challenges, the learnings and the continual refinements that have been instrumental in achieving some great successes for Downer Defence’s SME supply chain. Addressing the phases that defence industry SMEs encounter throughout their business growth cycle, the trio then discuss how other primes and defence businesses can employ the SME incubation model to support the sustainable growth of Australia’s defence ecosystem.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect team

Want to see more stories from trusted news sources?
Make Defence Connect a preferred news source on Google.
Click here to add Defence Connect as a preferred news source.

Tags:

Listen to previous episodes of the Defence Connect podcast:

Episode 11: PODCAST: AUKUS, China and Australia’s defence industrial future, with former prime minister Scott Morrison
Episode 10: CONTESTED GROUND: When AI goes rogue – the emerging threat Australia isn’t ready for
Episode 9: PODCAST: Frontier AI, cyber warfare, and defending Australia’s military networks, with Wendi Whitmore and Tom Scully
Episode 8: PODCAST: Australia’s 2026 Intergenerational Report and national security implications, with Phillip Tarrant and Robert Dougherty
Episode 7: CONTESTED GROUND: AUKUS, deterrence, and the deepening Australia–UK strategic partnership
Episode 6: SPOTLIGHT: Unlocking Australia’s Defence estate through divestment, with Stantec Australia
Episode 5: CONTESTED GROUND: Is Australia ready to secure its place in an increasingly contested space domain?
Episode 4: THE PROGRESS REPORT: Building the future – Viviene Beins on aerospace engineering, women, and Australia’s defence industry
Episode 3: PODCAST: Australian defence industry faces a changing strategic landscape, with Phillip Tarrant and Robert Dougherty
Episode 2: CONTESTED GROUND: Is Australia slowly regulating away its own prosperity – and, with it, its national resilience?