First Australians Capital
SVA is proud to have incubated First Australians Capital (FAC), an Indigenous-led organisation that provides new sources of capital and support for Indigenous businesses.
FAC is an Indigenous-led organisation with a strong vision of building a new economy driven by First Australians.
Indigenous Australians are three times more likely to be unemployed than non-Indigenous Australians and only one in seven Indigenous Australians are in highly skilled occupations. However Indigenous business are 100 times more likely to employ Indigenous people and therefore supporting the growth and prosperity of Indigenous business is a powerful driver to tackle social disadvantage and create transformational systemic change.
Venture mission
By linking 60,000 plus years of Indigenous business experience with the modern market place, First Australians Capital draws on the cultural, creative and economic strengths and assets of First Australians, which empowers them to drive their own prosperity.
FAC provides a unique product offering of concessional capital and capability support to Indigenous social-purpose enterprises and social entrepreneurs.
FAC’s services to enterprises comprise of capacity building, access to networks and development finance, with dedicated relationship management to build economic self-sufficiency within Indigenous communities and help drive a new economy in Australia.
SVA support
Our hands on venture philanthropy approach supported FAC with multi-year funding, capacity building through leadership mentoring to Co-founders Adrian Appo and Leah Armstrong and access to our deep networks.
Insights from the recent two year Indigenous Social Enterprise Fund pilot (ISEF) provided strong lessons and evidence for supporting Indigenous social enterprises. With a tested pilot model and prominent and highly experienced indigenous-led leadership, (FAC) was a uniquely placed partnership in the SVA venture portfolio.
Venture impact
In 2017 First Australians Capital:
- Grew to 2.3 FTE staff
- Worked with 103 enterprises, turning over in excess $30m and employing over 1100 employees
First Australians Capital joined the SVA venture portfolio in January 2015 and graduated in April 2017.
