Social business booms in Australia as robust operating models grow in popularity. Australia is experiencing increasing, some say renewed, energy and focus on social enterprise. Australia has a vibrant history of co-operatives and local enterprise and more recently a growing body of activity and interest in new business models that seek to combine a robust operating model and social mission.
Finding Australia's Social Enterprise Sector, the leading survey of the sector in Australia, estimates the number of social enterprises at about 20,000 operating across the country. Examples can be found in cities, peri-urban areas and remote communities. The School for Social Entrepreneurs, a franchise of the successful London model, has attracted about 200 aspiring entrepreneurs since its launch in 2009 and is now operating in centres across the country.
This week, the best of this endeavour has been celebrated in Australia with the inaugural Social Enterprise Awards. Enterprises creating pathways for homeless youth were recognised alongside the best of youth endeavour and procurement.
It can be difficult to put your arms around the social enterprise sector in Australia – not all identify themselves as such – but vibrant examples can be found in youth-led enterprise and community business, in the arts, education and the environment. They are large and small and include for-profit and not-for-profit business models, co-operatives and employee-owned organisations.
The 2013 awards celebrated the best across the spectrum. Thankyou water, selling bottled water to fund projects to bring safe, clean drinking water to communities across the developing world, showed what young people can do to lead change. Large and small enterprises, were celebrated: Connecting Up's online and technology services and Resource Recovery's waste reduction and recycling took the honours. STREAT was recognised for its innovations in training and pathways for homeless young people and in innovative finance – its recent expansion was financed through the first share issues by a social enterprise in Australia.
What's interesting is that Australian social enterprises operate not only in Australia but beyond Australia, having an impact across other parts of the world, including the Asia-Pacific region. Barefoot Power and Illumination Solar are examples of early movers providing sustainable, safe and affordable energy alternatives that have big ambitions for growth. One Girl's LaunchPad is empowering women and girls in Sierra Leone both through its business model and its product, helping local women to build their own businesses selling low-cost, eco-friendly sanitary pads.
Recognising that social enterprise needs access to appropriate capital and business development, early stage funding and development initiatives have attracted considerable interest.
Examples include the Australian Centre for Social Innovation Bold Ideas Better Lives Challenge, social traders The Crunch, Social Ventures Australia support for high potential social enterprises and Indigenous Business Australia support for indigenous enterprises. Philanthropic foundations have also had a focus on social enterprise, including the Westpac Foundation, Lotteries West and more recently the Victoria-based Lord Mayors' Charitable Foundation.
Three social enterprise funds entered the market in 2011-12 with A$20m of government seed funding – Foresters Community Finance, Social Enterprise Finance Australia and Social Ventures Australia. This brought more than A$40m in new money to finance growth and development of social enterprises in Australia. Social enterprises are using this new finance to purchase premises and equipment, develop new products or services, or expand existing services for the benefit of their communities.
Other forms of investment for social and economic benefit have also been gaining traction and interest in Australia echoing global trends. The state of play is captured in IMPACT – Australia: Investment for social and economic benefit. In the past year, the first certified B Corporations have also emerged in the Australian market. There is no yet legislation here that explicitly recognises social enterprise, but interest is growing. The first B Corporations include Small Giants, which invests in small businesses delivering sustainable business models and bankmecu, a member-owned bank.
This activity builds on a rich tradition and the track record of cooperatives and mutuals. While Australia is still rediscovering social enterprise, the foundations are strong for increasing scale and impact, and momentum is growing.
Posted by Rosemary Addis
Rosemary Addis is a social innovation strategist at the Australian epartment of education, employment and workplace relations.
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