World MSME Day: Local business helps build resilience

On 26 June, Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson released a report that showed small businesses contribute more than half a trillion dollars to the Australian economy.

It said the value of small business to the economy surged by 15% in 2021-22 to $506 billion, accounting for one-third of Australia’s GDP. Almost 98% of businesses in Australia are small businesses.

The report also shows that Australia’s 2.5 million small businesses provide jobs for 5.1 million people and employ 42% of all apprentices and trainees in training – nearly twice as many as are supported by big businesses. – and that their impact is felt beyond profit.

“Small businesses are the lifeblood of our communities, and we celebrate the vital contribution they make to Australia’s prosperity, wellbeing, and community,” Billson told media when launching the report.

This social contribution is behind the UN MSME Day. Globally, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) make up 90% of businesses, accounting for 60% to 70% of employment and half of global GDP, according to the UN.

World MSME Day celebrates the impact of small businesses beyond profit. It draws attention to the ability of small businesses to support local communities and global advances towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In Australia, businesses that place working for social good at least equal to, if not greater than profits, are classed as social enterprises, although the exact definition varies between states.

Recent estimates count approximately 12,000 social enterprises here, which contribute approximately $21.3 billion to the economy, accounting for around 1% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Today, we’re celebrating Australian MSMEs and social enterprises that prioritise impact alongside profit, and spotlighting those that support one or more of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

1 Mammojo

Sustainable Development Goal 3: Good health and wellbeing

Brisbane-based nursing and maternity activewear social enterprise Mammojo was established in 2015 to help mothers who wanted to breastfeed and exercise, and address global maternal and infant health issues.

Co-founders and directors Melita and Jonny Shirley say that their goal is to donate a minimum of 30% of all profits to charities that support mothers and children, as around 300,000 women and three million newborns die each year from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth.

Mammojo works with Birthing Kit Foundation Australia (BKFA), which uses global partners to distribute birthing kits that support a clean birth. Each kit contains items that help reduce infections at key high-risk moments during labour, birth and immediately post birth for the mother, newborn and birth attendants, and Mammojo donates a kit for every purchase.

Mammojo also supports Brisbane’s Mater's Neonatal Critical Care Unit, where 2,000 premature babies receive specialist care every year.

Mammojo minimises paid advertising, relying instead on reviews and word of mouth, and has sourced funding and support from accelerator programs specifically for innovative and impactful organisations including Advance Queensland Ignite Ideas and Impact Boom Elevate+.

2 Upshop Industries

Sustainable Development Goal 13: Climate action

Melbourne’s Upshop Industries finds creative ways to upcycle unwanted materials, working with other organisations to reduce waste and its associated negative impact on the environment.

Founder Mario Milici says that his team has “tested out design thinking and materials analysis, implemented circular economy principles, and shown that upcycling is the best practice to divert waste from landfill and enrich the lives of businesses and communities”.

The social enterprise’s services include waste assessment, market research, and product design and development. In a recent project, Upshop worked with the Metro Tunnel Creative Program to minimise the environmental impact of disposing of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) banners that had been used on construction hoardings.

The PVC banners, which featured works by commissioned artists, were transformed by Upshop Industries into bags, with the aim of reusing 90% of the material. Mario told Metro Tunnel that he hoped that the bags would become collectors’ items.

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3 Bread & Butter Project

Sustainable Development Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth

Australia’s first social enterprise bakery is celebrating 10 years of helping refugees and asylum seekers who hope to become bakers.

The Bread & Butter Project directs 100% of its profits to training and employment pathways. Its 30 trainees each year gain TAFE accreditation, work experience, English-language skills and support to secure employment after graduation. Almost all their graduates are employed.

While the Bread & Butter Project operates as a commercial business, it is also a registered charity with volunteers and pro bono support. Bread and pastry sales fund 90% of the training and operation costs (stockists include Woolworths and Harris Farm), while donations cover the rest. Last year’s Bake for a Baker crowdfunding campaign raised close to $90,000.

4 About a Dog

Sustainable Development Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production

Sydney toilet-paper manufacturer About a Dog was founded in 2021 by Dominic Chetcuti and Jarryd Tierney, after the friends saw the inspirational ways local businesses on the NSW south coast had supported their communities after the bushfires. They told Australian Dog Lover that it inspired them to build a brand that supported communities.

The subscription-based service donates 50% of its profits to RSPCA NSW, a charity chosen because of Australians’ love of pets (we have one of the highest rates of pet ownership in the world) and because 200,000 pets end up in animal shelters each year. The founders have also committed to a baseline donation to RSPCA NSW, independent of sales.

Chetcuti and Tierney also chose to manufacture locally to provide jobs and promote local industry, and to minimise environmental impact by using locally-made Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified 100% raw materials for the products and packaging.