Growing your community of support: Social enterprise networks in Australia

Monday 7 October 2019

Where to go to connect with other like-minded social enterprise folk

An issue that came up regularly while we were conducting our foundational research for The Studio is how lonely being a social enterprise founder can be. As one founder we interviewed said:

“ ‘Oh, you get us,’ or, ‘We get you,’ or there’s some shared understanding. There’s some stuff that doesn’t have to be convinced or spelled out. There’s a same page. So there’s a quick beginning point in that relationship being effective. And I think within some of those networks we’ve met other people who are also founders, or entrepreneurs or have lived the journey too. And they’re really significant relationships.”

Social Enterprise Founder

Developing a network, or community of support is important for social enterprises. Connecting with people who genuinely understand your social enterprise and the challenges you are facing is important for a founder’s wellbeing and the success of their social enterprise.

In Australia, unlike some other places such as the UKScotland and parts of Europe like Italy, many of our social enterprise peer-networks have developed on a more local (that is state-by-state) basis – perhaps due to our expansive geography and/or our three-tiered political system.

If you’re not sure where to start and you’re looking to expand your community of support, listed below are some of the social enterprise networks emerging across Australia.

Australian Capital Territory

The Mill House Ventures is a social enterprise business advisory and investment intermediary, committed to the growth of Indigenous business and social enterprise. Mill House offers the opportunity for networking through the ACT Social Enterprise Peer Network. They also support social enterprise development through the Social Enterprise Accelerator and The Mill House Clinics.

The Social Enterprise Taskforce is a proposed initiative of the Canberra Business Chamber that seeks to develop appropriate supports for social enterprise, social procurement and social business. The Taskforce will aim to connect social enterprises and provide advice, advocacy and mentorship. The Canberra Business Chamber is still working through the internal structure of the task force, with a view to have more details available for the sector in Janurary 2020.

The Social Enterprise Council of NSW & ACT (SECNA) is a brand new, member-led body, advocating for social enterprises across NSW and the ACT. Launched in March 2020, this nascent organisation has elected a board of directors and anticipate further opportunity for community involvement once fully up and running.

New South Wales

The Sydney Social Enterprise Exchange is an informal group that facilitates meetups every few months for social enterprises to connect, network and learn.

The Social Enterprise Council of NSW & ACT (SECNA) is a brand new, member-led body, advocating for social enterprises across NSW and the ACT. Launched in March 2020, this nascent organisation has elected a board of directors and anticipate further opportunity for community involvement once fully up and running.

Northern Territory

Enterprise Learning Projects (ELP) is an informal network that was founded in 2010. They seek to support and foster Indigenous-led social enterprise by creating opportunities to build enterprise skills and knowledge, built around Impact North, their community of impact innovators in the NT.

Queensland

Queensland Social Enterprise Council (QSEC) seeks to empower and represent social enterprise in Queensland. They offer numerous networking opportunities such as ‘The Unconference’ (a collaborative weekend for changemakers) and the Social Enterprise Sector Standup Project (an ongoing program to develop a growth strategy for QLD-based social enterprise).

South Australia

Adelaide Social Enterprise – a meetup group was established in January 2019 and currently has over 400 members. The group is intended to be a place to connect and share stories of social enterprise. Each month a different member hosts the meetup to showcase their South Australian social enterprise and share their own learnings. As of the end of 2019, their working group is in a consultation process with members to develop the South Australian Social Enterprise Council (SASEC).

Tasmania

We are not aware of any formalised or dedicated social enterprise networks in Tasmania. The Hobart Entrepreneurs group does have a social entrepreneurship category, and the recently emerged Hobart Social Entrepreneurs Facebook group offers networking opportunity. 

Victoria

SenVIC is a practitioner-led network that launched in late 2019.  They aim to connect the community of Victorian social enterprises and support the development of a thriving social enterprise ecosystem. Still in early development, they currently offer various workshops and opportunities for networking.

Western Australia

Impact Seed was founded in 2015 and seeks to build capacity for impact investment and social enterprise development. They run a range of workshops, alongside an Innovation Hub and Place-based Incubator.

Pollinators Inc is a member-based organisation that offers a range of learning programs, a co-working space, and various opportunities for networking and collaboration.

National

Social Change Central is an online network for social entrepreneurs.  Their portal has some great resources on network-building, opportunities and events.

This information is current as at late 2019. If you think any of the information needs to be updated or changed (or you’re aware of any other networks), please feel free to let us know by emailing socialstartupstudio@swin.edu.au.