Social Enterprise Development Initiative
Overview
The Social Enterprise Development Initiative (SEDI) aims to help social enterprises be more efficient and effective in delivering social benefits to vulnerable people.
SEDI has provided support through:
- funding for grants of up to $120,000 to eligible social enterprises to grow and help more people facing disadvantage
- funding for online activities to help the wider social enterprise sector build knowledge and skills.
The government committed $11.6 million from 2023-24 to 2025-26 for SEDI. This was part of the Targeting Entrenched Disadvantage package. This investment is to support the growth of the social enterprise sector in Australia.
Creating SEDI
In 2023, we worked with Social Enterprise Australia (SEA) to gather ideas from the sector to help design the SEDI. SEA engaged with the sector through workshops and surveys.
Read the summary of the views SEA collected(Opens in a new tab/window).
SEDI also drew on the success of the Sector Readiness Fund. The $8 million fund ran from 2018 to 2023. It provided grants to social enterprises to be able to attract more investment and increase their impacts.
How SEDI works
SEDI supports capability building to the social enterprise sector through:
- grants to support individual social enterprises
- online sector-wide education, learning and connection.
We partnered with 2 organisations to deliver SEDI:
- Impact Investing Australia(Opens in a new tab/window) (IIA) is the SEDI Capability Building Grants Administrator.
- Social Enterprise Australia(Opens in a new tab/window) (SEA) is the SEDI Education and Mentoring Coordinator.
These organisations helped us to be flexible and creative in developing SEDI. It also helped to embed SEDI in the sector.
SEDI grants
We selected IIA to be the SEDI Grants Administrator following an open, competitive grant round.
IIA ran 8 competitive grant rounds and selected 56 social enterprises for grants of up to $120,000 each.
IIA received more than 900 expressions of interest and more than 400 applications. There was strong representation from First Nations, rural and regional social enterprises.
Applications for a SEDI Capability Building Grant closed on 30 September 2025.
The awarded SEDI Capability Building Grants are scheduled to finish by 30 June 2026.
SEDI Capability Building Grants support social enterprises to buy capability building services from their nominated specialist advisers (intermediaries). Eligible activities include:
- business planning
- financial management
- contract negotiation
- legal support
- outcomes measurement and evaluation
- help to access finance such as investment loans or grants.
For more information, visit the Impact Investing Australia(Opens in a new tab/window) website.
SEDI education and mentoring
The SEDI education and mentoring activities are online and available to the whole sector. They complement the individualised support provided by the SEDI Capability Building Grants.
SEA is the SEDI Education and Mentoring Coordinator. It is the Australian social enterprise peak body and grew out of the sector. SEA’s mission aligned with the goals of the SEDI Education and Mentoring activity. The partnership means the sector has a voice in SEDI.
Understorey
Under SEDI, SEA developed a centralised online hub for sector resources called Understorey. The website hosts leading practice resources, tools and training modules. Understorey is designed to change and grow over time, in response to participant feedback.
Understorey also helps people in the sector to connect. It includes a sector-guide and a list of sector organisations. It commissions and hosts online learning and peer mentoring communities. These are for social enterprises at different stages of development.
Feedback from the sector will help Understorey to evolve beyond the life of the SEDI program.
Working with the sector
We encourage anyone in the sector to reach out to SEA with any ideas or feedback on Understory. Let SEA know what content and support you would like it to provide. Please email hello@socialenterpriseaustralia.org.au.
To find out more about getting involved visit SEA(Opens in a new tab/window).