26 of Australia’s best and brightest social enterprises have been named as the finalists in this year’s Social Enterprise Awards.
The 2016 finalists include a diverse mix of businesses including caterers and fresh food delivery, real estate and retail that provide employment and training opportunities for refugees and marginalised groups; safe and secure housing opportunities for disadvantaged women and their children; consulting services fostering cultural inclusion and sustainability for the environment.
Managing Director of Social Traders, David Brookes, said the diversity of the finalists reflect the rising growth of social enterprise in Australia. “This year we’ve seen the highest number of applications since the Awards first started in 2013, with a large proportion of applications coming from enterprises that have been trading for less than three years.”
According to national research from Finding Australia’s Social Enterprise Sector, in 2010, 62 per cent of social enterprise respondents had been operational for more than 10 years, but in 2016 this figure dropped to 38 per cent. More than one-third of social enterprises who responded had been operational for only two to five years indicating a growth in new businesses entering the market.
The Social Enterprise Award winners will be selected by an independent judging panel headed by Mr. Simon Gillies Partner from PwC, and announced at the Social Enterprise Awards ceremony on Wednesday 30 November in Melbourne.
In partnership with The Ākina Foundation, New Zealand’s social enterprise development organisation, the eight category Award winners from this year will have the opportunity to participate at the Social Enterprise World Forum in Christchurch, New Zealand in September 2017.
The Social Enterprise Awards 2016 received 119 applications across eight award categories, including the new category of Women’s Impact Award – recognising a social enterprise that has made a significant and substantial impact to addressing disadvantage amongst women.
The Social Enterprise Awards is a national social enterprise industry event, created and produced by Social Traders. An expert Advisory Panel has been established to assist Social Traders in the design, promotion and conduct of this year’s Awards involving representatives from the School of Social Entrepreneurs (SSE), Social Ventures Australia (SVA), The Difference Incubator (TDI), Thankyou Group, Community Business Bureau Inc, Generosity Magazine, Queensland Council for Social Enterprise (QSEC) and Social Enterprise Finance Australia (SEFA).
A full view of all the 2016 Social Enterprise Award finalists is available at:
http://socialenterpriseawards.com.au/2016-finalists/