September 30, 2012

SEFA selects Queensland social enterprise for first loan

SEFA has made its first $450000 loan to a Queensland social enterprise that will provide accommodation to people in Cairns and Indigenous people from Cape York who travel to Cairns for health services.

Social Enterprise Finance Australia (SEFA) has made its first loan to a Queensland social enterprise that will provide accommodation to people in Cairns and Indigenous people from Cape York who travel to Cairns for health services.

SEFA has loaned AU$450,000 to Three Sista’s, a social enterprise which will buy a former tourism business and turn it into low-cost accommodation service for people coming to Cairns for health services. The money will go towards the purchase and refurbishment of the site. SEFA structured the arrangement with Three Sista’s as a “longer term” loan with a tailored payment arrangement as the organisation will be refurbishing the business in the initial phase, said David Rickards, SEFA managing director.

“The proposal made sense because there was a combination of good security, good mission and good entrepreneurship. Rickards said. “Secondly, there are management rights over the accommodation, and the property was being sold at an attractive price. Then, Three Sista’s had a good business proposal – it uses a model that is already up and running, and they have experienced management, plus they are adding a more sophisticated layer to the business, facilitating on-site social services and other support, such as meet people at the airport, bring them directly to their accommodation and bus them to health providers.”

Rickard also noted that the income stream is “relatively secure” in that the clientele will use accommodation chits from the Queensland government.

Three Sista’s will work with Apunipima Cape York Health Council to ensure clients from Cape York have access to affordable accommodation and transport when in Cairns, said Minister for Employment Participation Kate Ellis in a statement announcing the loan.

SEFA and Foresters Community Finance’s Social Enterprise Solutions brand are the two fund managers selected by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations to administer the AU$20m Social Enterprise Development and Investment Fund (SEDIF). SEDIF was established to improve social enterprises’ access to finance to help them grow their business and increase the impact of their work in their communities and matches private investment.