Hello from the CEO - September 2026

Hello, 

There’s been a lot happening at Sefa over the past few months, with new partnerships, new opportunities and plenty of conversations about what impact-led organisations really need to grow sustainably. 

I’m especially excited to share that Sefa has been named the investment delivery partner for Queensland Treasury’s Financing Growth Fund. 

Over the next four years, we’ll provide tailored advisory support, capability building and flexible loans to for-purpose organisations across metropolitan, regional and rural Queensland. These are organisations doing vital work in their communities, but too often falling between the gaps of traditional lending and grant funding, particularly when they’re ready to move from proving an idea to building something sustainable at greater scale. 

The Fund gives us an opportunity to work with more organisations at this important stage of their journey, and is an important step towards our moonshot of unlocking $500 million for social good by 2030. 

We’ve seen plenty of other examples this quarter of what becomes possible when capital and capability work together. In August, we launched our partnership with Xero For Good to bring its free Financial Fitness program to Australia’s impact sector, giving purpose-led organisations practical tools and mentoring to strengthen their financial foundations. 

We also caught up with some of the organisations putting that approach into practice. Through Backing the Bold, Aqua Ubique has combined tailored capability support with finance to grow its safe-water technology, while CSnet has invested in the people, systems and technology it needs for its next stage of growth. And it was wonderful to reconnect with Schoolhouse Studios, which recently repaid its Sefa loan – always a milestone worth celebrating. 

Sefa and our Backing the Bold program were also proud to sponsor the One to Watch Award at this year’s Queensland Social Enterprise Awards, recognising emerging social enterprises with strong potential for impact. 

September has also been a busy month of conversations across the sector. We joined impact leaders at Social Impact in the Regions, before heading to the Philanthropy Australia Conference, where our team hosted a conversation about why funding alone isn’t enough, and the value of bringing capability support alongside capital. 

As we move into spring, there is plenty more work ahead, and plenty to be excited about! 

Thank you, as always, for being part of it with us. 

Warmly, 
Hanna