Empowering women changemakers in the Northern Rivers
By Gabrielle King and Sophie O’Sullivan, Engagement Managers
Women in the Northern Rivers are driving change in their community, making up 8,154 out of the 19,735 business owners in the region. With the right support, they can boost their impact even further. And that’s just what we were there to help them do through our EmpowerHer Activating Change Makers program.
From natural disasters and COVID to tight economic conditions, this region is a challenging environment to grow a business, especially a social enterprise. The devastation of the 2022 floods is still being felt, with many business owners experiencing burnout. After a six-location roadshow in regional NSW, Sefa decided to launch our inaugural EmpowerHer program in the Northern Rivers, in part to address these challenges.
Delivered over three months, EmpowerHer supports early-stage social enterprises positively impacting women experiencing disadvantage. It’s an opportunity for founders to transform their purpose-led business by giving them skills, networks and support to expand their impact. We know social entrepreneurs in regional areas don’t have the same access to capability support as their urban counterparts. And for the Northern Rivers, this gap has worsened since cuts in government funding to business support programs.
Applications from 21 local entrepreneurs confirmed the appetite for support in the region, with six enterprises completing the program: Figtree Farm Collective, Big Picture Health, D’Vine Creations, Haus of Armour, The Mend & Make Do Crew and The Healing Studio.
These enterprises are all doing diverse and purposeful work in the Northern Rivers, led by founders who want to make a real difference and empower women. It was truly inspiring to be able to support these women who bring incredible passion, resilience and determination to everything they do.
Partnering locally for a longer term solution
We knew we couldn’t deliver a practical and meaningful program in the Northern Rivers alone. We heard many times that regional social enterprises are fatigued with fly-in/fly-out consultants, so we sought to co-deliver the program with a local partner to ensure knowledge and connections remain embedded in the community. Well respected in the area, Byron Community College (BCC) has a strong track record and deep connections in the start-up space. Yarpa, a partnership between the NSW Aboriginal Land Council and the Australian Government, empowers First Nations businesses, communities and people across NSW. Partnering with both these organisations helped us design a program that delivers immediate and ongoing impact.
Participating social enterprises could learn from all partners, gaining diverse perspectives on building a thriving enterprise.
“I got so much out of the course. It made me spend the time I needed to work on my business instead of in it,” says Kellie from Big Picture Health.
Beyond the three months, founders are now connected to a network of supporters and potential funders to scale their impact over the long-term.
A focus on deep learning
Through a mix of online and in-person sessions and 1:1 coaching, founders learned skills across eight modules:
With each module, participants gained a deeper understanding of the key elements in building a successful social enterprise. Feedback shows participants now place more importance on financial and impact data to tell their story.
“The formal learning time was great. There was a lot of content delivered with enough time to take it in. The coaching sessions were also a helpful feature of the program,” shares one participant.
“The program has been extremely beneficial in solidifying concepts into a solid business blueprint and understanding the theory of change,” says another grateful participant.
We are now working on refining the content to give participants more time to apply concepts and have deeper learning experiences.
Right place, right approach
Working in a regional context, we’re conscious of the need to adopt a place-based approach and tailor the program to the local area. For the Northern Rivers, this involved inviting local guest speakers to talk to specialist areas and facilitate peer reflections. The speakers included Odette Barry from PR consultancy Odette and Co, Jasmin Daly from the Ingrained Foundation and Kiri Dicker from the Northern Rivers Community Foundation. For Kate, founder of Haus of Armour, a not-for-profit helping survivors restore their dignity through fashion, the guest speakers were a key highlight.
“To hear the guest speakers’ experiences, stories and advice on specific topics we were learning was incredibly useful.”
While participants gained practical skills during the program, we have an opportunity to further tailor the content to meet local needs. For example, we discovered the need and desire to learn how to develop a disaster recovery plan, given the region’s recent history.
Building lasting connections
In a group-based learning environment, enterprise founders were given the space to connect with one another and exchange stories about running a business.
“Being among peers who are also building their social enterprise whilst under the oversight of a social enterprise industry leader was the most positive element of the program,” says one of the participants.
The founders valued this program element so much, they expressed a collective desire for more in-person sessions and opportunities to get an inside view into each other’s day to day struggles and wins. BCC is now focused on maintaining connection and nurturing a supportive network.
What’s next?
By rolling out EmpowerHer for Northern Rivers social enterprises, we’ve achieved what we set out to do – empower them to continue their good work and boost their impact. Tackling complex issues like domestic violence, affordable housing and mental wellbeing, these founders have strengthened their capabilities and connections to serve more women.
Our next stop is the Riverina/Murray region of NSW where we’re ready to work alongside a new cohort of regional changemakers.