The social enterprise sector is on the rise, with two thirds of certified social enterprises in existence established in the last 10 years, research from Social Traders reveals.
Social Traders has released data on the footprint of social enterprises in Australia called Pace – the profile of Australia’s certified social enterprises.
It includes economic and impact contribution data of 460 social enterprises collected over five years between 2018 and 2022.
Emerging with youth on it’s side
Pace also found the majority of social enterprises to be under 10 years old and most are growing their financial footprint -79% increased their overall revenue between certifications and 83% increased their trading revenue.
Social Enterprise Australia estimates there are 12,033 social enterprises in Australia with a combined $21B in economic output or 1% of GDP. The estimate also includes $13.1B in Gross Value Added (GVA).
Verified social enterprises are growing at 29% year on year.
Time to reveal the secret – Social Traders
Recently appointed Social Traders’ CEO Tara Anderson hoped the research will shine a light on the sector. The report has been released under a promotional campaign, #Business4Good, to help spread the word about the impact of social enterprise.
“We hope Pace will become a tool that the whole social enterprise sector can use to promote, advocate and support social enterprises. Because as Pace shows, the social enterprise sector is too impactful to remain a ‘best kept secret’,” Tara says.
Victoria continues to lead the way and boasts 244 social enterprises, followed by 98 in NSW, 78 in Queensland and 31 in South Australia. WA, ACT and TAS share 9 social enterprises collectively.
The fastest growing state is NSW, with an average annual growth rate of 9.8% in social enterprises founded over the period 2020-22.
