Hello and Season's Greetings from the CEO
As this unsettling year comes to an end, we can still reflect on an exciting year for Sefa, following a pivot of our business model and a strengthening of our team.
Only yesterday it was announced that Sefa won the Impact Asset Manager award at the 2020 Australian Impact Investment Awards. I’d like to thank the Impact Investment Summit Asia Pacific and the Social Impact Hub as well as sponsor, Department of Social Services, for this honour. A massive congratulations to all the winners, including past and present partners of Sefa: John McKinnon, Sven Stenvers and Christian Super. This is a wonderful way to close 2020 and I would like to thank our Board, Investment Committee and the Sefa team for their contributions over the past months.
Since the beginning of the year, our new strategic initiatives have been in play, including delivery of fee-for-service opportunities. We have undertaken investment readiness for Indigenous pre-school, Jarjum Centre, for which Sefa has been awarded a Growth Grant. Sefa and Sefa Partnerships recently joined forces to produce a research report for Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation on philanthropy's role in supporting affordable housing. The focus on fee-for-service advisory has allowed us to form new partnerships around program co-design and general capability building.
This capability building sits well alongside Sefa’s proven capital track record which has been recognised with our renewed approval as a participating lender in the Federal Government’s SME Guarantee Scheme Phase Two. The Scheme’s second phase runs from October 2020 - June 2021. The maximum loan size is now $1 million per borrower and loans can be up to five years. Loan funds can be used for new and existing business activities such as working capital, equipment purchase, the purchase of commercial property and lease commitments.
In November I was appointed to the Victorian Government's Social Enterprise Reference Group to help grow the state’s social enterprise sector. The group will work with Parliamentary Secretary for Jobs, The Hon. Jane Garrett and lead the development of a new strategy, to be released in mid-2021. This is an exciting opportunity to connect across the eco-system and bring different partners from not-for-profits, government, philanthropy and corporate together, with a view to create employment and build back better.
Sefa is in a strong position to demonstrate continued agility into 2021 along with the patience to meet clients where they are at and work at their pace as a trusted partner navigating these unsettling times.
This silly season I hope for togetherness with your loved ones, relaxation and rejuvenation - or whatever it is you need after this challenging year!
See you in 2021
Hanna Ebeling, CEO