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By Greg Thom, journalist, Institute of Community Directors Australia
A new report highlighting the economic and societal value of social enterprises has called for more federal government support for the sector.
The inaugural Report on Identified Social Enterprises (RISE) is described as the largest and most comprehensive analysis of social enterprises in Australia.
The study, released by social enterprise industry body Social Traders to coincide with World Social Enterprise Day revealed:
There are an estimated 12,000 social enterprises in Australia.
Analysis of half of these contained in the RISE report found they contribute $16 billion to the Australian economy, indicates the sector’s overall economic contribution may be greater than the $21.27 billion predicted in previous estimates.
A social enterprise:
Source: Report on Identified Social Enterprises (RISE) report.
“Let’s make social enterprise business as usual, for a more inclusive, sustainable and equitable Australia.”
In the forward to the report, Social Traders CEO Tara Anderson said that social enterprises combine the head of business with the heart of charity and deliver the impact of both.
“They prove that doing good and doing business are not mutually exclusive.”
Anderson said the report for the first time combines Social Traders own data on 636 social enterprises with data from the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) and Map for Impact.
This brought the total number of social enterprises analysed in the report to almost 6,000 – the largest dataset on social enterprises to be analysed in Australia.
“As we combine datasets for the first time, our hope is that this report will empower policymakers, researchers, investors, philanthropists, intermediaries and the public to better understand and support the vital contributions of social enterprises,” said Anderson.
Anderson said countries with national social enterprise strategies have seen a 16% increase in social enterprises start-ups.
If replicated in Australia, this could result in an additional 1,900 social enterprises spending $900 million per year to deliver social and environmental impact.
“Imagine what would be possible if social enterprises played a bigger role in the economy,” said Anderson.
“Let’s make social enterprise business as usual, for a more inclusive, sustainable and equitable Australia.”
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