J.P. Morgan to Help Drive Social Enterprise in NSW
22 October 2014 at 9:13 am
Global financial services firm J.P. Morgan and national social enterprise development organisation Social Traders have announced a new partnership to accelerate the social enterprise sector in NSW, supporting social enterprise ideas that address youth unemployment.
Under the program, social enterprises and startups across NSW are invited to participate in youthCANwork, a competition to identify and develop investment-ready ideas for addressing youth unemployment.
The four highest potential enterprises will be selected to participate in Social Traders’ successful start-up incubator program, The Crunch, which is being run in NSW for the first time.
J.P. Morgan employees will also contribute their expertise as mentors for the participating social enterprises.
“There is a strong need for specialist capacity building support for investment-ready start-up and early stage social enterprises in NSW. We are proud to begin addressing this need through our partnership with Social Traders,” Rob Priestley, Chief Executive Officer, J.P. Morgan ASEAN region and Australia and New Zealand, said.
“The focus of our partnership will be on cultivating capability in start-up social enterprises, specifically focused on addressing youth unemployment in NSW. Youth unemployment has been growing in Australia since the start of the global financial crisis. Among 15 to 24 year olds unemployment is 13.2 per cent, more than twice the national average, so this program is addressing a critical social issue.”
David Brookes, managing director of Social Traders, said J.P. Morgan’s commitment to supporting social enterprises in NSW was a great advancement for the sector in Australia.
“Social Traders has a strong track record for supporting social enterprises in Victoria and we are excited to build a pipeline of investment ready social enterprises in NSW through this partnership.
“J.P. Morgan and Social Traders will convene a youthCANwork competition in November 2014 to bring together social entrepreneurs, business, government, philanthropists and social investors to develop solutions to create employment for young people through social enterprise.
“Through youthCANwork and The Crunch 2015 we will begin to build a strong pipeline of investment-ready social enterprises in NSW, while also tackling head-on a big social issue: youth unemployment,” he said.
To find out more about the youthCANwork competition or The Crunch 2015 in NSW visit www.socialtraders.com.au/youthcanwork
