SSE Australia shuts its doors

The School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) Australia is shutting its doors after seven years of supporting early stage social enterprise development in the country.

In 2009, the late Steve Lawrence brought the SSE franchise model from the UK to Australia via a franchise agreement and under the auspices of Social Ventures Australia, of which he was a founding member.

With over 450 alumni from over 30 programs held in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Mildura, Alice Springs, Wollongong, Coffs Harbour, Cairns, Bendigo, Myrtleford, SSE Australia said they have been a leader and key contributor to the development of the sector.

The organisation said it is proud of its contribution and happy in the knowledge that the sector has taken root and will continue to evolve well to serve communities.

Michele Goldman, CEO of SSE Australia said, “SSE Australia would like to thank all our alumni for their dedication to their own communities and commitment to making a difference.”

“We also thank wholeheartedly the many individuals who connected with our programs as volunteer mentors, advisors or expert witnesses. Without them, we could not create the bridges we needed to reconnect communities to the rich talent that exists within them,” said Goldman.

“SSE Australia is pleased to observe the increasing number of organisations, funders, and investors in Australia’s social enterprise eco-system. Increased collaboration will ensure future investments are well made, and promising ideas gain the nourishment required to come to fruition.

“We wish all our remarkable SSE Australia Fellows well as they continue their critically important work building a fair and inclusive Australia.”

SSE Australia also thanked its corporate partners, The Macquarie Group’s Kickstarter Program, ING Direct’s Dreamstarter and the BT Accelerator and Incubators. They also acknowledged the Westpac Foundation’s support and their efforts in capacity building the sector’s emerging talent.

School for Social Entrepreneurs continues to operate globally in the UK, India and Canada.