18 start-ups with a social and/or environmental mission have joined leading social enterprise incubator Two Feet, which has just launched in Sydney and Queensland after successfully running in Melbourne for the last few years.
The Two Feet six-month program is run by TDi, well-known for their business heads in social enterprise, and subsidised by National Australia Bank.*
TDi’s mission is to dismantle the traditional choice of businesses having to operate in a binary way: either for profit or not for profit, do good or make money. TDi instead advocates an alternative concept that with the right business model, organisations can do good in the world and make money at the same time.
To respond to high demand, the Two Feet sessions launched in Sydney on Tuesday 24 May, and in Queensland on Wednesday 25 May, where they will alternate between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast.
‘We had such a positive response from Melbourne’s Two Feet program it was an obvious decision to spread “the good” to Sydney and Queensland,’ explained TDi’s head of business development and programs, Ishani Chattopadhyay.
‘The interest from Sydney and Queensland has proven to be just as noteworthy with a diverse range of social enterprises jumping on board the Two Feet journey.
‘The nine social enterprises in Sydney range from tech platforms to help refugees settle into their new country, to Australia’s first non-partisan social enterprise, passionate about increasing youth voter participation and political engagement.
‘In Queensland our original plan was to run workshops in Brisbane only, but once we took a peek at the innovation ecosystem, we realised there was a pipeline of enterprises doing amazing work on the coast.
‘Queensland participants include a remarkable business that connects socially isolated people with RSPCA animals who are waiting to be adopted, and an innovative tech platform created by a stay-at-home mum that builds an online community to promote and facilitate no waste and sharing of harvest.’
TDi co-founder and CEO, Bessi Graham, said Two Feet was part of a long-term mission to build a critical mass of successful social enterprises across Australia ready to take on investment.
‘At present, the social enterprise market is like the tech scene in the nineties – a market in its infancy, but which has enormous potential to change the world while also making money,’ Ms.Graham said.
‘We want social enterprise to become mainstream. Once we have a critical mass of enterprises, other start-ups will see how they can do good and make money, and investors will see how they can do good while diversifying and de-risking their portfolios.’
*The Two Feet program normally costs $15,000, but thanks to NAB funding will be delivered for $5,000 per company
