Social Enterprise Program

SCHOLARSHIPS

iAccelerate is offering 10 Social Enterprise scholarships:

  • Full scholarships valued at $13,000 per enterprise, funded by Investment NSW
  • Each scholarship allows up to three participants per enterprise

EXPERT GUIDANCE

Learn from Australia's leading social entrepreneurs through:

  • Industry-leading coaches and mentors
  • Site visits to local social enterprises

RESOURCES

Access iAccelerate’s resources and expert community to grow your impact, including:

  • Tailored 14-week education program to design, test and launch your social enterprise
  • 12 months office space and access to iAccelerate‘s multi-purpose facility

WHAT IS THE SOCIAL ENTERPRISE PROGRAM?

Our program is designed for entrepreneurs looking to deliver social or environmental impact.

The 14-week Education Program is valued at $4,500 and includes:

  • Facilitator-led workshops
  • Self-paced online learning
  • Individual mentoring with leading experts Active learning
  • Peer support through site visits to social enterprises accompanied by talks from their leaders.

10 startups will then be selected and offered an additional nine-month residency within iAccelerate, after completion of the education program.

Residency at iAccelerate offers you all the benefits you need to succeed - being part a community of like-minded people, an advanced education offering plus a designated desk space for you to take the action needed to make your business a reality.

The nine-month additional Residency Program is valued at $8,500 and includes workshops on:

  • Social impact
  • The right business structure for your enterprise
  • How to get funding
  • Developing new products and services
  • Finding paying customers
  • Pitching

This program will be delivered at UOW’s iAccelerate facility:
iAccelerate Centre, Innovation Campus, Squires Way, North Wollongong, NSW, 2500

KEY DATES

The Education Program:

  • 7 February - 22 May 2024
  • Running every Wednesday morning
  • The Education Program ends with a pitch event to showcase your business and the skills you've developed


The Residency Program:

22 May - 20 December 2024

Site Visits:

  • Greenacres Disability Services, 14 February
  • Green Connect, 21 February
  • Flagstaff Group, 28 February

Coaching Workshops:

Learn from Australia's leading social entrepreneurs from:

  • OzHarvest
  • The Reconnect Project
  • Goods4Good
  • Backtrack Works
  • The Social Story
  • Fighting Chance and Jigsaw
  • YEP Careers
  • Give and Take Co and Two GooD
  • StartSomeGood
  • Empathy First

WHO SHOULD APPLY?

Want to start a business for good? Our Social Entrepreneur Program can support founders, businesses and ideas, including:

  • Community members who want to create positive social or environmental change through a business idea
  • Founders looking to turn their idea into a business
  • Not-for-profits and organisations looking to make a financially sustainable impact in their community
  • Existing businesses looking to revitalise their strategy to launch responsible new products or services

PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY


NSW Government logo
Investment NSW logo