Social enterprises call for more cash to help make a difference

Bec Scott runs one of the most successful social enterprises in Australia, but even she says getting a social impact business off the ground is a “crazy treadmill” and a constant fight to stay afloat.

“There’s a real challenge. There’s challenges when you start up something in Australia, and there’s often not money in the front end,” says the co-founder of Streat.

Streat provides vocational education and support to young people who need it through its eight cafe-focused businesses.

Scott and co-founder Kate Barrelle started Streat a decade ago, launching with funding from Danish philanthropists.

The organisation has since secured a range of funding, including $300,000 from impact investments and a further $2.5 million in debt funding.

Streat now turns over more than $2 million a year and has so far saved government agencies around $16 million in funding for at-risk young people, according to projections from RMIT. Scott has seen first hand how hard it is to get investment as a social enterprise.
“It’s getting better in some senses - there’s far more visibility of what a social enterprise is now,” she says. Read more

Emma Koehn - Brisbane Times - 14 Oct 2018