Algorithmically-fuelled outrage, a cost of living squeeze, and a news cycle that never seems to let up – this week, WA even declared a state of emergency.
As if the global fuel crisis wasn’t enough, WA has serious, embedded challenges – skills shortages, workforce exclusion, rising costs, regional fragility. Governments are stretched, communities are feeling the pressure, and the problems aren’t getting simpler.
It can be hard to know where to look for reasons to feel good about the world. So what do you do?
If you’re the 20 social entrepreneurs we’re celebrating in this post, you build a business designed to fix it.
Why nurturing social innovation matters
Social innovation is a practical response to these pressures. It brings together business thinking and lived experience to create solutions that work in the real world and open up opportunity for more people. But until now, WA had no dedicated program for early-stage social entrepreneurs. Founders were looking interstate or making do with generic business support that wasn’t built for the realities of purpose-driven enterprise.
WASEC’s Social Impact Incubator was designed to change that.
This is what a better WA looks like
In late February, WASEC graduated the inaugural cohort of the Social Impact Incubator. Over six months, 20 social entrepreneurs took purpose-driven ideas and built them into real, viable enterprises tackling some of the state’s most pressing challenges – from workforce exclusion and food systems to domestic violence, disability services, and circular economies.
One mentor summed it up well:
“The incubator is something many of us in the ecosystem had wanted to see for a long time. It offered a systematic, organised, peer-based way for people looking to start a social enterprise to learn from others, develop relationships, and feel genuinely validated in the path they’re taking.”
What also struck us was the cohort itself – diverse, generous, and deeply committed to each other as much as their own ventures. As one participant reflected:
“Initially I thought social enterprises were just for Anglo Saxon people – but when I joined the incubator I realised that was not true. I met a very diverse cohort. I felt immediately that I was part of it.”
That’s the sector we’re building.
How it worked
Across 11 sessions over six months – participants worked with a national network of social enterprise leaders, mentors, and practitioners. They stress-tested their ideas, measured their impact, visited enterprises putting inclusion and circularity into practice, and were matched with mentors who challenged and supported them.
In February, the cohort presented at The Platform to an audience of over 130 people from government, industry, funders, and the broader ecosystem. It was a demonstration of what’s possible when social innovation gets the support it deserves.
“Wow what an incredible event last week! I came away so incredibly inspired.”
“I love what you have created with the social impact incubator. Such a great room to be in during your pitch night. Well done!”
A huge congratulations to our alumni: Hazel Law Heidy Sands Elsa Durward (Circular Fashion Council), Eric Clock (Little Go Getters), Kate Mcloughlin (LJM Memorial Hospice), Jasmine Hornby (StrideMate), Kristy Gallagher (Safe Call Up), Kim Hutchinson – Neurodiversity and Inclusion (What Unites), Karla Fox-Reynolds (Panacea Design), Helen Heydretch GreenSkills , Aharon Neill-Stevens 🌻 (Kinship Farms), JC at Women On the Tools, Tracey Jewel, Tharanga De Silva Kuda Ndlovu and Emem Udo
What’s next?
Applications for the next Social Impact Incubator open soon, with the program starting June 2026. Thanks to the support of Minderoo Foundation, places are heavily subsidised – making this a genuinely accessible entry point for the next generation of WA social entrepreneurs. You can register your interest as a participant or expert here.
WA’s challenges aren’t going away. But here’s what we know: when we build an economy around community impact and shared prosperity, we build a stronger economy for every West Australian.
This is what a system that works for WA actually looks like.
You can follow them, support them, back them through the WASEC (WA Social Enterprise Council).
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