Australia's High Potential Social Entrepreneurs Join AMP Foundation’s Tomorrow Makers SPARK Program
A new cohort of 14 dynamic social enterprises throughout Australia have begun AMP Foundation’s Tomorrow Makers program and Impact Boom is the proud delivery partner.
These passionate, purpose-led entrepreneurs are responding to a vast range of issues & challenges in their local communities and beyond.
After a highly competitive application process from across Australia, the selected entrepreneurs and their teams shone through as passionate leaders deeply driven to create a positive impact and to prove that business can be a force for good.
These inspiring social entrepreneurs are well worth watching as they evolve, develop their enterprises and expand their impact. Pencil in December 6 for their Showcase event in Sydney. Details are to be announced shortly.
Meet the 2023 AMP Foundation Tomorrow Makers
Disinfluencer
Simone is the inspiring Founder of Disinfluencer, a ground-breaking initiative dedicated to fostering inclusion for people living with disabilities, neurodiversity, and chronic illness, in the media and entertainment industry.
Her personal journey as a mother, caring for her son who underwent a kidney transplant after being diagnosed with a rare disease, fuels her unwavering commitment to seeing a world where 1 in 5 individuals with disabilities are represented and empowered.
Through her social enterprise, she hopes to offer meaningful employment opportunities and increase the representation of people with disabilities in mainstream media.
Through Disinfluencer, Simone will reshape the media landscape to reflect the true diversity of the human experience.
Founder - Simone Eyles
Virtual Contact Centre
Recognising the unique challenges faced by older workers in today's rapidly evolving job market, particularly in regional Australia, Paul's motivation is to create viable employment solutions for individuals who are navigating similar circumstances to his own, namely, the pressing issue of unemployment among individuals aged over 50 and the profound impact of late-career job loss.
With the support of the SPARK program, he envisions developing further his concept of a Virtual Contact Centre into a dynamic social enterprise.
The Virtual Contact Centre will not only offer employment opportunities but also provide comprehensive training, guidance, and support to bridge the skills gap.
founder - Paul Mizzi
Little Dreamers
At 16, Madeleine founded Little Dreamers Australia's leading Young Carer provider, assisting young people aged four to twenty-five who provide unpaid care for family members with disabilities, chronic illnesses, mental illness, or addiction.
She did this to support young caregivers like herself move forward in their own lives while caring continuing to be the caregiver – in Madeleine’s case it was for her brother with chronic illnesses and her mother with breast cancer.
Little Dreamers wants to take another step forward and develop a social enterprise to deliver ‘Young Carers Workplace Accreditation,’ program to enable young carers seeking work to find employment more easily, and for employers experiencing workforce shortages, to gain access to these highly skilled young people.
Founder - Madeleine Buchner OAM
Revolve Recycling
Since its establishment in 2021, Revolve ReCYCLING has been dedicated to revitalising old bicycles and reducing waste. They recover, recycle, and redeploy various forms of personal transport, including bikes, e-bikes, scooters, and more.
With a commendable track record, they have successfully redeployed 1,431 bikes, preventing tons of materials from ending up in landfills and saving 140,000 kg of greenhouse gas emissions. The team at Revolve ReCYCLING comprises certified mechanics who repair and refurbish high-quality bikes. These refurbished bikes are then made available for sale at affordable prices, and donated to children, ensuring accessibility for all.
Through the SPARK program, Revolve ReCYCLING aims to expand their impact by developing a Certified Bicycle and Personal Transport Vehicle (PTV) Mechanics training program specifically designed for First Nations people. This social enterprise will not only provide valuable skills and employment opportunities but also foster inclusivity and representation within the cycling and personal transport industry.
General Manager - Guido Verbist
The Travel Better Project
Raised on a small farm in Tasmania, surrounded by pristine wilderness and unique biodiversity, Emma developed a deep appreciation for nature’s beauty and complexity.
A life-changing 85km trek with her father at the age of twelve further ignited her commitment to find ways of enabling the enjoyment and use of nature while protecting the biodiversity and cultural heritage that makes it so valuable.
Through her for-purpose agency, Ethical Republic, Emma founded The Travel Better Project to inspire and enable a positive impact approach to tourism in Tasmania.
The initial focus has been on working with tourism operators to make meaningful changes in their business. However, Emma wishes to further develop the concept by creating clear pathways for the not-for-profit sector to partner with tourism businesses for social, cultural, and environmental impact. She also wants to explore suitable models to scale and expand The Travel Better Project in Australia for greater impact.
Founder - Emma Pethybridge
Deadly Rugby
Toby Ellis hails from the beautiful communities of Arnhem Land in a town called Nhulunbuy, and later Kakadu National Park in Jabiru. It was in these Northern Territory locations that Toby spent his childhood playing Rugby.
Toby founded Deadly Rugby to provide Indigenous kids the opportunity to experience the love of playing Rugby Union he had growing up. Deadly Rugby links Indigenous communities with local rugby clubs and city schools to create co-designed rugby camps. Through the SPARK program, Toby aims to co-design rugby camps that further empower and uplifts Indigenous and non-indigenous youths through sport and connection. Toby is a board member of the Northern Territory Rugby Union, where he actively contributes to the development and promotion of rugby in the region.
Founder - Toby Ellis
Circulanation & Remote OpShop Project
Through these ventures, Tanya is dedicated to empowering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, allowing them to unlock their full potential and take control of their economic pathway and future. Since 2016, the Remote OpShop Project has been diligently building a network of outback opshops, delivering positive outcomes for Indigenous women and their families.
These community-driven social enterprises not only offer access to affordable clothing but also provide business training and generate independent funding to support local community projects.
Tanya's vision is to turn the project into an impactful social enterprise, developing sustainable opshops in partnership with Aboriginal Corporations and communities across remote Australia.
founder - Tanya Egerton
Chanel Bowen
Chanel is the author of ‘Astray,’ a children's book that draws inspiration from her personal journey of acquiring a disability in her 20’s and confronting ableist discrimination for the first time in her life. Her book was inspired by a conversation she had with her mum about feeling like a ‘lone sock,’ believing she had no purpose in the world.
From this conversation, a universal story was born about changing situations that were unplanned and their effect on us all. Her social enterprise concept is to publish a children's picture book about this ‘lone sock’ to normalise disability from a young age, instilling in children and adults the belief that although things change, we still have purpose and live meaningful lives.
Sister2Sister
The Sister2sister Foundation is a remarkable not-for-profit organisation dedicated to providing young girls with the tools they need to be masters of their own future. Through their youth support and education programs, including one-on-one mentoring and in-school workshops, they equip young women with vital life skills to build resilience, fostering a sense of self-worth to overcome challenges often associated with intergenerational trauma.
With the support of the SPARK program, the Sister2sister Foundation wishes to develop the No Limits 4 Girls program into a self-sustaining social enterprise with a focus on social and emotional well-being and create positive lifelong building blocks for even more young girls in need.
Sister2Sister - Emma Murphy
Prepare Produce Provide
Catherine's dedication to food, education, and community has driven her to establish Prepare Produce Provide, a not-for-profit organisation. Through their programs, she empowers and inspires young people to explore careers in the food and hospitality industry while teaching them about community engagement, food sustainability, and nutritional well-being.
The exciting initiative they wish to develop is their pilot of an accredited training course called Beautiful Water ~ Kepa Kwab into a social enterprise. This involves running workshops for young people to create a variety of non-alcoholic beverages using traditional Australian botanicals. From flavour extraction and development to blending, marketing, and label artwork design, students gain hands-on experience in the entire drink production process. This initiative of Prepare Produce Provide aims to equip the next generation with valuable skills, fostering creativity, and nurturing a passion for food and community.
founder - Catherine MacDougall
Alon Ilsar
Alon's journey as a professional musician and later as an academic led him to realise the importance of music in our society and to our overall wellbeing. His passion lies in providing musical experiences and accessible instruments to people with disabilities and to those living in aged care facilities.
Building on his ground-breaking creation, ‘AirSticks’ – an audio-visual electronic wand that converts movement into music – he aims to develop a new initiative that is delivered via a smart phone so that all people can create music and move to the music they create.
Waluwin Foundation
Waluwin wish to create a traditional whole-of-landscape response to support First Nations people to acquire and operate freehold title farmlands in order to revive traditional agricultural practices that care for Country and build opportunities for First Nations people to participate as landowners, create intergenerational wealth and become equitable participants in Australia's agrarian economy.
The social enterprise will develop a "yindyamarra" funding model and application pathway to offer First Nations farmers access to capital, enabling them to purchase freehold land and engage in farming practices that respect and nourish Mother Earth by promoting soil carbon improvement, biodiversity enhancement, and the restoration of cultural narratives connected to the land.
Waluwin's hope is also to serve as a means of fostering cultural provenance, economic leadership, and environmental stewardship, aligning with the principles of nation building.
Team - Paul Girrawah House, Murray Prior, & Chris Andrew.
ReLove Design Store
ReLove is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to supporting women and children transitioning out of homelessness and domestic violence.
Co-founded by Renuka, an architect with a passion for sustainability, ReLove reduces furniture waste while providing essential support to those in need. They accomplish this by repurposing high-quality furniture that would otherwise end up in landfill.
Renuka now wishes to develop and launch a social enterprise called ReLove Design Store, selling the carefully curated furniture received from various sources, including corporate relocations, hotels, companies with excess stock. By selling excess corporate design furniture directly to the public, ReLove Design Store will generate funds to cover the operational costs of the design store and assist in funding part of ReLove itself.
This innovative approach not only tackles the issue of furniture waste but also creates a sustainable funding stream to support ReLove's mission.
Co-founder - Renuka Fernando
THe Park
Barbara Cullinan, a dedicated physiotherapist with 23 years of experience, has made it her mission to provide specialised care and programs for individuals with Parkinson's Disease and just as importantly, their caregivers. Recognising the importance of enabling patients to live and age with dignity while enhancing their overall quality of life, she has established a small centre on the Sunshine Coast to cater to the needs of people with Parkinson's, their carers, families, and friends.
As the prevalence of Parkinson's Disease continues to increase globally, Barbara understands the urgency to expand her services and reach a larger audience. To address this growing demand, she envisions scaling up and creating The Park. Through the SPARK program, Barbara aims to develop a scalable model that can be replicated in other locations that goes beyond the health needs of people living with Parkinson’s and supports the whole of life support they and their families and carers need.
