The SSE & BT Australia Incubator Program is in full swing with 23 entrepreneurs kick-starting the next phase of their exciting ventures this week in Sydney, Australia.
The Incubator Program offers a unique combination of personal and professional support for our 23 entrepreneurial individuals with an idea for a start-up social venture.
The 9-month Program involves Study Blocks across four cities (Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide) so participants can benefit from SSE’s expansive network of inspiring Fellows, mentors and experts across Australia.
The Program launched on Tuesday with an exclusive eyewitness session from SSE Associate Fellows – Nishan David and Sarah Martin.
Nish David is a social entrepreneur and co-founder of Bloodless – a streetwear label that uses fashion to start conversations and raise funds for causes that matter; while Sarah Martin is the Co-Founder of First Hand Solutions Aboriginal Corporation which has established the social enterprise Blak Markets to provide economic development opportunities for the Aboriginal people of La Perouse.
In the afternoon students worked with BT executives as pitch coaches to refine their pitches in preparation for Day 2. Feedback from the BT executives was that they thoroughly enjoyed the session and the interaction with the students.
“It was really challenging in good ways and took me out of my comfort zone. What a great and inspiring group of people,” said Chris Ellis, BT Financial Group.
The following day our students were filmed pitching their idea to our leading professional mentors, including many executives from Westpac and BT Financial Group. The day continued with Nick Elliot, Director of Consulting from Social Ventures Australia who took our students through a Theory of Change Workshop and demonstrated the building blocks to establishing a robust framework to measure and evaluate social impact.
The day wrapped up with the official launch of the program where students, mentors, esteemed guests networked and shared their experiences of social enterprise in Australia and their desire to drive the sector forward.
At the program launch last night Celia Hodson CEO, School for Social Entrepreneurs Australia outlined that the unique value the Program brings to participants such as Kate and Sheree is the learning experience coupled with the collective networks of BT Financial Group, the Westpac Foundation, and SSE Australia.
“We’re delighted to be working with BT Financial and the Westpac Foundation on this exciting program. The key to creative innovation is bringing together people and processes that are traditionally perceived to be on opposite sides of the spectrum – such as social enterprise education and financial services. I’m excited to showcase through our Program that we have achieved this to foster and mentor this amazing group of social entrepreneurs,” said Ms Hodson.
Jane Watts General Manager Private Wealth, BT Financial Group said BT’s fundamental purpose is to help to prepare people for their best possible financial future – and the SSE & BT incubator initiative is a great example of working in partnership to help a group of social entrepreneurs to prepare for and create an exciting future.
“BT is committed to forging an enduring and productive partnership with SSE where we help the next generation of talented social entrepreneurs in this country to survive and thrive,” Ms Watts said.
BT have provided financial support to the Incubator as well as expertise and mentoring from senior BT executives and we cannot thank them and the Westpac Foundation enough for their ongoing support.
If you want to find out more about our other Programs click here.
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