Impact 2 Innovate
Impact 2 Innovate (I2I) is a multi-year program to provide capacity building and investment readiness support to Western Australian social enterprises/impact ventures, and investors.
The program, delivered with funding support from Paul Ramsay Foundation, will focus on development of social enterprises and impact ventures, along with impact investment to support them.
Each selected venture will have the opportunity to work alongside expert mentors and partners including Minter Ellison, who have generously provided their in-kind support.
Impact 2 Innovate will provide a comprehensive range of capacity-building support aimed at growing impact ventures and social enterprises in WA. Program support will be provided in a number of streams:
- Capacity building for social enterprises and impact ventures at the ideation and validation stage including advisory, and coaching on our toolkits; Workshops and programs for impact ventures at various stages of development
- Accelerator residencies for growth-stage ventures
- Mentoring from local and national domain experts
- Impact strategy, measurement and management: co-design support for tools including program logic, theory of change and impact management strategies to deepen impact and support stakeholder communication of impact value propositions
- Investment-readiness support
- Catalytic stakeholder support across the impact and innovation ecosystem, corporate and government social investment enablers, investors targeting impact, not-for-profit organisations, and granting foundations
Read the media release here.
Expressions of interest are currently closed. Contact us for more information.
Program Mentors
Adam James
Adam has over 15 years’ experience across research and technology commercialisation and complex systems transformation; And is a founder of Emyria (ASX:EMD). He holds a degree in Neuroscience (Pharmacology), an MBA and is WA committee member for Ausbiotech; the representative body for the life sciences sector in Australia. and is a Foundational Fellow of the Collaboration for the Advancement of Sustainable Medical Innovation (CASMI) UCL UK.
Alan Beattie
Alan is a recognised industry leader, having held a number of senior roles across sectors sector since 1997 and joined NLE in 2020 after 3 years in the role of Social Enterprise Manager at Holyoake, where he was responsible for development and growth of the DRUMBEAT, DRUMBEAT Quest and Wellbeing@Work Social Enterprises. NLE develops innovative land based enterprises such as Bush Produce, Cultural Tourism, Honey and mainstream enterprise such as Prime Lamb Production on Noongar country. NLE identifies successful business enterprises managed by Noongar People, on Noongar land, as an opportunity to provide better social and cultural outcomes for Noongar people and the broader community.
Ben Hawthorn
Ben has worked as an Executive Manager, Non-Executive Board Director, Founder and Advisor with both private and public organisations,most recently as the CEO of Suitsme, an app based service providing mental health support under the NDIS. Ben has had a diverse career having worked internationally and locally across education and health to engineering and sustainability on large scale infrastructure projects. He also has a strong interest in social enterprise and digital ventures, having co-founded an online disability marketplace, the Impact Collective and advised a number of startups both locally and internationally as a Partner at Health Disrupt. Ben is currently a Board Director of WA Blue Sky, an NDIS service provider.
Vanessa Rauland
As a passionate entrepreneur, researcher, author and public speaker, Vanessa has dedicated her career to addressing climate change and increasing awareness about the vast benefits of sustainability and low carbon living. After completing her PhD in the field of decarbonising cities and working as an academic for over 10 years, she founded ClimateClever, a data-driven, climate-tech startup that helps communities to reduce their carbon footprint and save money on their utility bills. She is passionate about social enterprises and impact-driven businesses and is a Founding Board Director and Co-Chair of WA Social Enterprise Council (WASEC), which aims to grow this sector in WA.
Cameron Neil
After years establishing Australia and New Zealand’s Fairtrade movement, Cameron Neil went on to co-found Red Hat Impact, and Lendforgood, organisations connecting impact enterprises with impact investors. Working at the intersection of finance, business, technology, and startups, Cameron is passionate about transformation and evolution of human systems beyond failed (and failing) 20th century models. LendForGood is a crowd-lending platform operating as a joint venture between Red Hat Impact and Start Some Good, a business supporting people in starting social enterprises.
Hanna Ebeling
Hanna Ebeling CEO, Sefa Hanna has 9 years direct impact investing in emerging and developed market settings, 6 years international private banking, and multi-country experience and competence to interact in and adapt to different work cultures. From traditional banking with HSBC to impact investment in the Philippines, Hanna brings a global practice lens to Sefa as Chief Executive Officer. She is on the board of Woodville Alliance, and works with the Prime Minister’s Community Business Partnership to improve collaboration between government, private sector, and philanthropy.
Keith Rovers
Keith Rovers Partner, Minter Ellison Keith brings this commercial expertise and a passion for social justice together as the firm's Pro Bono & Community Investments Partner and in this role, advises over 100+ social enterprises, indigenous businesses, for-purpose businesses and charities sponsored by the likes of Westpac Foundation, AMP Foundation, Social Ventures Australia, First Australians Capital, Many Rivers and Social Traders. He has also been involved in the establishment of social enterprise peak bodies, such as SECNA, SENVIC and Social Enterprise Australia, as well as advising QSEC, Impact North and Impact Seed. Keith is on Social Trader's Expert Advisory Committee. Keith holds a number of board positions, including the Westpac Foundation and is chair of social enterprise incubator - White Box Enterprises, as well as MothersBabies, a health promotion charity educating and empowering families, including research into the microbiome and impacts on the health of mothers and babies. He is also a board member of Constellation Project – an initiative with Mission Australia, Australian Red Cross, Centre for Social Impact and PwC, seeking to end homelessness in a generation and Humanitix – the humane ticketing platform, with an education aligned mission. Keith is recognised by Best Lawyers in Banking & Finance, and is regularly published in the Australian Banking and Finance (AB+F) magazine.
Chandra Sundareswaran
General Manager at Perth’s Spacecubed, Chandra Sundareswaran is an entrepreneur with twenty years of experience in diverse sectors including social enterprise, not-for-profit, retail and manufacturing in India and Australia. Chandra has a personal commitment to social equity and is constantly searching for innovative solutions to foster social inclusion through entrepreneurial activity. Having set up and operated two startups, he has a deep understanding of the needs of early-stage entrepreneurs, micro and small enterprises.
Jennifer Halton
Jennifer is Chief Impact Officer at The Centre for Entrepreneurial Research and Innovation in Perth, where she leads on transformational strategies for growth and quantifiable impact incorporating service design thinking, digital transformation, open Innovation and ecosystem alignment. Jennifer has award-winning expertise in building strategic and commercial partnerships for growth and innovation across geographies and sectors. Before relocating to Perth, she designed the growth and partnership proposition for Imperial College London’s JV, Scale Space, working with world-leading venture builders and academics to help scale-ups connect, innovate and grow within and beyond the UK SME ecosystem. She has led research and commercial projects in Europe and Australia with global brands, including Facebook, AstraZeneca, ARUP, Matheson, Vodafone and BT. Jennifer holds a PhD in early modern studies and has published and lectured globally in her research field.
Natasha Teakle
Tash is experienced in research, commercialisation, innovation facilitation and is passionate about sustainable primary industries and new technology. She is currently a part time Regional WA Facilitator for Accelerating Commercialisation, part of the Federal Government Entrepreneurs’ Programme. In 2016 she co-founded and still leads Innovation Cluster (trading as AgriStart Pty Ltd), which focuses on empowering innovative businesses to support regional development. She holds several board, advisory and volunteer roles including with Busselton Jetty Inc, Carbon Conscious Investments, South West Angels, and has been on the judging panel for the WA Innovator of the Year awards since 2015.
Nicole Lockwood
Nicole has 20 years executive experience working in law, government and consulting including 14 years of board experience on government, corporate and not for profit boards. Her background in infrastructure, economic development and community engagement provides her with a unique insight into the complexity of planning and delivering large economic and infrastructure projects in an environment of ever-changing social expectations. She is also a Board member of the Green Building Council of Australia and the WA Association for Mental Health.
Rowan Foley
Rowan Foley comes from the Wondunna clan of the Badtjala people Traditional Owners of K’gari (Fraser Island) and Hervey Bay, Queensland. Rowan is the founding CEO of the Aboriginal Carbon Foundation (AbCF). Rowan arrived in the Northern Territory in 1989 working as a ranger at Uluru – Kata Tjuta National Park and returned in 2005 as the Park Manager living in Mutitjulu community for a total of six years.The Kimberley Land Council employed Rowan as their first Land Management Officer 1995 where he established their Land and Sea Management Unit and negotiated the first Indigenous Protected Area in Western Australia.
Reece Proudfoot
In 2017, Reece founded WWF-Australia’s sustainable technology accelerator: Panda Labs, with a mission to develop, support and scale innovative, global solutions for the Sustainable Development Goals. Panda Labs supports both social enterprise start-ups and corporate ventures and is currently incubating two blockchain venture partnerships. In 2017, Reece authored the report “Can Technology Save the Planet?” and developed the WWF global network’s global blockchain strategy. Reece currently chairs the WWF global blockchain working group. Reece’s career began in advertising at News Limited in Sydney before making a significant pivot to work for two years in the Kingdom of Tonga – on capacity building and climate change adaptation with the Tongan business sector. Reece joined WWF in 2012, working on climate change campaigns, including Earth Hour, which engages hundreds of millions of ordinary people on sustainability, climate change, and energy every year. Reece now has over fifteen years experience in innovation strategy and capacity building, campaigning, and coalition building. Reece has a Masters Degree in International Social Development from the University of New South Wales, and is especially motivated by building public participation in problem solving and solution design.