‘Business for good’ community a valuable part of ecosystem
November is Social Enterprise Month 2023, and a timely moment to reflect on the growing community of social enterprises in the New England North West - a valuable part of the region’s business ecosystem.
“Ahead of the Social Enterprise World Forum in 2022, UNE SRI hosted a ‘business for good’ round table at NOVA,” said UNE SMART Region Incubator’s Regional Connector in Armidale, Cherene Spendelove.
“Our intention was to gain a sense of existing social enterprises and others working in that space (even if they didn’t identify as a social enterprise), and we were keen to offer support and connection for this community - a network within a network.”
“After that initial ‘round table’ gathering, we endeavoured to grow and support the NENW social enterprise network, ensure that network is included in our broader ecosystem, and connect it to opportunity, support and social enterprise peak bodies.”
In 2022, the SRI hosted events targeting ‘business for good’ including a social entrepreneurs breakfast with SRI Expert in Residence and founder of the Future Leaders Network, Ian Mason.
NOVA was then a Social Enterprise World Forum (SEWF) 2022 Community Hub, livestreaming sessions from the global event.
“While SRI events are inclusive, we were excited to offer targeted events and this year partnered with Social Enterprise Council of NSW & ACT (SECNA) to host the first ‘Business for Good’ Lunch in Armidale in July,” said Ms Spendelove.
“SECNA CEO Kylie Flament came to Armidale to introduce Min Seto (Australian Social Value Bank), Marcus Watson (BackTrack), and Maggie Cairns (Ignite Small Business Startups) and lead a round table lunchtime conversation with some of the wonderful NENW businesses doing great things.”
The second ‘Business for Good’ Lunch in Armidale was recently held on 19 October, and featured a presentation by Social Enterprise Finance Australia (SEFA).
UNE SMART Region Incubator is pleased to partner with Social Enterprise Council of NSW and ACT.
