Anna Crabb: Accelerator Lead, Global Sisters

Ask former Social Ventures Australia Principal Consultant Anna Crabb about her time at SVA, and she’ll say “we” a lot.

“I absolutely loved my time at SVA,” she says.

“Stepping away reinforced to me that the things we assess at SVA when we’re investing, the recommendations we make, even what we assess in the due diligence done in venture philanthropy, those things are critical. They do translate into what is possible for organisations to achieve.”

Pausing for a moment, Crabb notes with a laugh, “I’ve really got to stop saying “we’!”

Crabb left SVA at the end of 2016, but says the common purpose of the SVA team, a fundamental desire to positively impact the lives of the disadvantaged, remains.

“I really enjoyed that mission. Particularly the amazing clients, who were inspirational people making great changes,” she says.

She now spends part of the week as the Accelerator Lead at Global Sisters, an organisation that aims to give vulnerable women financial independence through self-employment. As Accelerator Lead she’s responsible for ensuring the program’s business education, microfinance, retail and technology support is both accessible and effective to the women involved. The rest of the time she works as a freelance consultant, working with social enterprises and not-for-profits.

“My whole career had been consulting, advising people what to do. When I left SVA, I felt like it was the right time to get some hands-on program or service delivery experience.”

Global Sisters approached Crabb, and is founded by another SVA alumna, Mandy Richards.

“We do quite a bit of work with funding partners, not-for-profits, but also directly with the community,” Crabb says.

“SVA gave me a real understanding of what disadvantage looks like in Australia, and what effective community engagement looks like.

“I’m really proud to have worked at SVA, because I look at other alumni at SVA that have gone on to do great things, and the credibility and respect they have in the sector.”

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