Building Financial Resilience: How Sefa Supports Habitat Women
By Anna Robertson, Senior Manager - Impact and Engagement
Women make up just 1% of plumbers, concreters, roof tilers, bricklayers, and carpenters in Australia. Habitat Women is changing that. Through a 12-week training program, they equip women with the skills to enter the trades sector. Graduates can then apply for work in Habitat Women’s repairs and maintenance social enterprise—an initiative that generates income to reinvest into their mission and Habitat for Humanity.
Our engagement with Habitat Women was made possible through the EmpowerHer program, funded by the NSW Government. This initiative supports women-focused social enterprises to build financial resilience and scale their impact.
Strengthening Habitat Women’s Financial Future
Over five months, we worked alongside the Habitat Women team to assess their financial sustainability and strategic direction, focusing on two key areas:
✅ Value for money analysis: We evaluated whether Habitat Women's training program is cost-effective compared to similar programs in the sector. This involved participant consultations, data analysis, and a sector-wide review to understand more broadly what is motivating participants to join and participate in this training program.
✅ Financial sustainability trajectory: We developed a two-year financial forecast to show how much demand is needed to break even and where the funding gaps lie so that Habitat Women can prioritise the activities that are going to ensure sustainability while not compromising on delivering impact for women.
Queenie Tran, Head of Habitat Women, shared:
“It has been fantastic having your expertise to advise and support us at this critical point of transition. Your help has been invaluable, and it’s also been incredibly fun spending time with you to share our visions for Habitat Women.”
As International Women’s Day approaches, we celebrate organisations like Habitat Women that are breaking down barriers and creating economic opportunities for women. Thanks to the EmpowerHer program, we’ve been able to support their journey towards financial resilience.