The rules of business are evolving. Social enterprise has found its way to the forefront of discussions in the corporate arena, academia, capital markets, nonprofit sector, government departments and now in the dining rooms of Australian households.
In recent times there has been a significant increase in the number of start-up social entrepreneurs and the quality of their early stage ventures. These individuals are designing enterprise models that are commercially viable and scalable companies that have interwoven social and/or environmental outcomes into the DNA of the business.
The broader market is becoming more familiar with the emerging social enterprise arena and increasingly more proactive. New commitments of support are arising from corporate brands, dedicated investment funds and governments at local, state and federal levels.
Strongly positioned within this increased demand for high growth, high impact start-up ventures and aligned with an increased national focus on driving innovation and entrepreneurship, Impact Academy is once again opening applications for its highly competitive accelerator program. The program will support the next wave of enterprises that are committed to using business to make money and create change.
What has Impact Academy achieved so far?
More than 60 social enterprises have now participated in the Impact Accelerator and are scaling businesses across various industries including digital, gaming, food & beverage, retail, agriculture, medical, manufacturing and other arenas. These same enterprises are tackling issues throughout communities including education, health, mental health, disability, youth, indigenous, environment, waste management, recycling and more. Impact Academy alumni are based in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Northern Territory and Indonesia.
The comprehensive accelerator program is based at Collaborate in Spring Hill. Enterprises selected from outside of Brisbane will benefit from the online learning management systems and digital conferencing facilities to make it more effective to plug in remotely and remove many of the barriers of distance.
Peter Ball, Founder of Impact Academy confirmed that the breadth and depth of the course content has also been increased from previous rounds with more expert facilitators, experienced mentors and industry leaders committing to be involved.
“We welcome enterprises from various stages of development from pure start-ups and early stage ventures to scale-ups focused on their next stage of growth. Accumulating a portfolio of sixty amazing social enterprises within our first few years has exceeded our expectations and we are thrilled to see the increasing quality of enterprises that are applying.” said Ball.
The closing date for applications is Sunday 30th July. Social enterprises interested in applying need to visit www.impactacademy.net.au and complete the online application. All queries are to be directed to [email protected]
