Food Ladder is the world’s first not-for-profit organisation to use hydroponics and environmentally sustainable technologies to create food and economic security for communities otherwise reliant on aid and affected by poverty. They have used custom designed systems to grow commercial quantities of nutrient-rich produce around the world; from rural towns in India and Uganda to the most remote parts of the Northern Territory in Australia. Once established, the ownership of system is transferred to the local community and support is provided to effectively and commercially operate them.

Project Description

Indigenous Business Australia (IBA) commissioned us to identify an organisation that could deliver focused impact in rural and remote indigenous communities and build a payment by outcomes contract around their work. We identified Food Ladder as strong candidate for this in partnership with a larger organisation with experience of payment by outcome contracts, namely the Benevolent Society. We designed a payment by outcome contract that would deliver on indigenous health, education and employment outcomes and were selected by NSW Treasury to enter the joint development phase of the Office for Social Impact Investment’s commissioning process.

Expertise

• social impact research and design
• impact measurement
• social impact bond design
• financial modelling