Regional business models for the future
After the devastating Black Summer bushfires in 2020, a powerful insight emerged from affected communities: rebuilding requires autonomy, connection to place, and innovative business models and funding ecosystems that re-invest in community and environmental wellbeing.
This wisdom was gained through WWF-Australia’s Innovate to Regenerate program, and became the foundation for launching Regen Labs, a social enterprise that supports regional communities to grow future-fit business models, unlock impact funding and scale regenerative outcomes.
Regen Labs is now leading a Social Enterprise Australia learning community called WEAVE; a 12-month, place-based innovation ‘sandbox’ to learn what regional social enterprises need to play a leading role in accelerating the shift to a regenerative economy. Practically, this involves real-world experiments in three regional places - Hills and Coasts South Australia, Northern Rivers NSW and Southern Highlands NSW - and one urban context, Melbourne VIC.
“Regional communities around Australia have great potential for innovation. They nurture new enterprise models across different sectors from energy to food and fibre, to manufacturing and circular economy to arts and tourism,” says Dr Dimity Podger, Co-founder of Regen Labs and lead convenor for WEAVE.
“They are also experimenting with innovative forms of finance, governance, and alternative ownership structures that see the benefits of social enterprise flowing back into communities, rather than being extracted to the cities or overseas.
“But regional entrepreneurs have also consistently shared with us the challenges they experience. These include lack of access to capability building, learning networks, appropriate finance and local innovation ecosystems that support their system-changing potential.”
To remove barriers, share insights, and unlock the potential of social enterprises in this space, Regen Labs and learning partners will explore:
Business model innovations: How regional social enterprises can create greater systemic impact by working together rather than individually, as well as exploring the main types of regenerative businesses, and the role of AI in levelling the playfield.
Social infrastructure innovations: What social infrastructures can support and enable social enterprises to shift local economies towards an inclusive, just, regenerative future.
Finance innovations: How innovative finance can effectively resource place-based social enterprises and unlock regional regenerative economic transformation.
Learning partners joining Regen Labs through WEAVE include:
Regenerating Hills and Coasts, South Australia
Northern Rivers Regen Food Systems Coalition, NSW
Home Grown Economy, Southern Highlands, NSW
Regen Melbourne - Melbourne, Victoria
Ready Communities - Ready Clarence, NSW
WEAVE is also supported by critical friends:
Dr Katherine Trebeck, Economic Change Lead with The Next Economy
Liam Flanagan CEO with Yinhawangka Aboriginal Corporation
Dr Jarrod Ormond, regenerative entrepreneurship researcher with the UTS
Dr Joanne McNeill, The Good Shift
Sherryl Reddy, Network Lead, Social Enterprise Australia
WEAVE is a learning community commissioned by Social Enterprise Australia and funded under the Australian Government's Social Enterprise Development Initiative (SEDI), to build capability in the sector to grow social impact.
How can you learn more and get involved?
Join Regen Labs for a webinar on 14 May to learn more about WEAVE: https://lnkd.in/ggx_J2Xm
Sign up to WEAVE snapshots here: http://eepurl.com/iOk2nU
More on learning communities here: https://understorey.org.au/communities
