Join us for an illuminating event about the future of social enterprise in Victoria with StartSpace, powered by State Library Victoria and Social Enterprise Network Victoria (SENVIC).
The panel for this event features:
Nathaniel Diong, Founder & CEO Future Minds Network (Moderator)
Rebecca Scott, Co-Founder and CEO of STREAT
Michael Lim, Founder and Managing Director of Beyond Value
Jaison Hoernel, CEO at Good Cycles
Andrea De Almeida, Head of Innovation and Partnerships, APAC of Purpose
The event will feature a panel discussion with leaders in the Victorian social enterprise ecosystem:
- sharing how they engage with the social enterprise sector,
- shining a light on current opportunities and
- celebrating the exciting future for social enterprises in Victoria.
The Future of Social Enterprise in Victoria – panel event
Date: Wednesday 9 August
Time: 5.30pm – 7.30pm
Venue: StartSpace, State Library Victoria
Bring your sense of curiosity and expect plenty of time and space for questions during the event.
Whether your business has an impact focus or not, this event will offer valuable insights that may present future opportunities.
Bookings are essential, please register to confirm your place.
Please note: Auslan interpretation is available on request for StartSpace events. Our staff require two weeks to plan and book this service. If you would like to request Auslan Interpretation, please let us know by Wednesday 26 July when you register for the event, or email the team to request it: [email protected].
Bec has spent her whole career working in innovation, the first half of it in science at the CSIRO, the second half as a social entrepreneur. She’s particularly interested in how we can solve complex systemic issues using multi-disciplinary practice. She’s the Co-founder and CEO of STREAT, a Melbourne-based social enterprise that works with marginalised young people aged 16-24 years and provides them with a healthy self, job and home. The organisation runs a portfolio of 12 foodservice businesses, including cafes, an artisan bakery, a catering company, and a coffee roastery.
Bec is also heavily involved in building Australia’s social enterprise sector through her work with SENVIC, ASENA, peak bodies, incubators, universities, government advisory bodies and board positions. Bec is most happy when she’s dreaming up social innovation projects with friends and she’s currently collaborating on the development of the Purpose Precinct, a new social enterprise retail precinct in Melbourne’s CBD, and also on Moving Feast, a social enterprise network creating a fair and regenerative food system for Victoria.
Michael Lim’s entrepreneurial journey is characterised by his passion for social impact and his dedication to making a difference in his local community in Melbourne’s west. As a 4x Award-Winning social entrepreneur, he has been acknowledged for his innovative and impactful work across a range of industries such as health, education, employment, and social enterprise. He is currently the Founder and Managing Director of Beyond Value, a social procurement consultancy leveraging Artificial Intelligence to help organisations do more good through how they buy and sell things. Through Beyond Value, he collaborates with a diverse range of clients, providing strategic guidance, and advisory services, and developing strategies and initiatives that align with their social missions.
Prior to this role, Michael was a Director at YLab Global and previously the CEO of Community Health Advancement and Student Engagement (CHASE). Under Michael’s leadership, CHASE worked with over 1,000 students in schools across Melbourne’s west and received the inaugural WeAreBrimbank Leadership Award in 2018. Michael was the Australian Co-Lead for the Social Enterprise World Forum 2022 in Brisbane and an Advisory Council Member to Social Enterprise National Strategy (now Social Enterprise Australia).Michael was the youngest member to appointed by the Minister for Suburban Development to be a board member of the Tarneit Revitalisation Board, Melton Revitalisation Board and Western Metropolitan Partnership, where he is currently the Chair of the Jobs and Skills Working Group.
As CEO of Good Cycles, Jaison is committed to leading social change and developing and delivering a vision for creating inclusive cities and future jobs through sustainable solutions. Under his leadership, the organisation has seen growth in impact, continuity, and vision through the ongoing COVID crisis. He has continued to lead projects such as the Melbourne Social Enterprise Village while maintaining ongoing development of City Services, Open Spaces and Micro Mobility programs to deliver mission-led employment pathways within Good Cycles. Alongside this, he has supported sector development as a founding member of the Social Enterprise Network of Victoria (SENVIC).
Andrea fundamentally believes in the power of collaboration as a catalyst for major social and environmental change and brings 20 years of social impact leadership and innovation across a range of sectors. In 2022 she was appointed the Head of Innovation and Partnerships APAC, for Purpose – a global B Corp that harnesses people power, story-telling and campaigning to create social change and shift public policy.
Prior to Purpose, she ran her own consulting practice advising start-ups, non-profits, corporates and business on creating social impact, systems thinking, social innovation and staff well-being. Andrea’s expertise includes leadership, strategy, public policy, social ventures (social entrepreneurship), impact-driven business and cross-sector collaboration for impact.
Andrea is the former CEO of B Lab Australia and New Zealand, and was most previously its CEO where she led the team, its 300+ B Corps and partners to build a movement of people using business as a force for good. She has also worked as a Director of Venture Philanthropy at Social Ventures Australia (SVA), where she led teams to partner with philanthropy, corporate Australia and non-profits to test innovative solutions to tackle long-term unemployment. Before SVA, Andrea spent 5 years in Victorian government and 4 years advising local, State and Federal governments at KPMG and freelancing. Her work focused on delivering high-impact policy and program reform, audit and evaluation.
Growing up as a young disabled migrant, Nathaniel felt trapped without opportunities to join the workforce. Hopelessness and fear marked his path. Today, Nathaniel Diong is the founder & CEO of Future Minds Network, a social enterprise that empowers marginalised youth with the future-ready skills to enter employment, and even create their own jobs. His students have launched their own 3D printing businesses, led charities uplifting 10,000 elderly residents, and even discovered their dream careers in social change.
Nathaniel is also heavily involved in amplifying the voices of youth and legitimising their crucial role in shaping solutions and decision-making. He collaborates with esteemed organisations like the UNDP, World Health Organization, and King of Thailand to do so. Nathaniel has been recognised as the finalist for 2023 Commonwealth Young Person of the Year, Young Australian of the Year, and celebrated as Asia’s most influential entrepreneurs in Forbes 30 under 30.
SENVIC was established in early 2018 to build a connected community of social enterprises, to facilitate access to learning and development opportunities, and to give practitioners an independent and collective voice. It’s purpose is to grow a thriving Social Enterprise Sector in Victoria.
