Imagine a future where every purchase we make, big or small, contributes to a more just and sustainable future.
This is the singular vision of Samuel Philipos and Mitchelle Katsande, co-founders of Benevolence Financial Group – a mortgage broker with a fundamental difference.
“Whether it’s your morning coffee or buying your dream home, we believe that every transaction can help fight injustice and shape our world for the better,” Philipos explains.
The recently launched social enterprise, based in the Macquarie University Incubator, is boldly turning the home lending model on its head. In an industry first, Benevolence invests up to half its net up-front commissions from every loan into social justice impact projects.
“Working for a major bank, and with the revelations of the Royal Commission, I began to question what I was contributing to,” recalls Philipos. “We created Benevolence as a viable alternative that puts people before profits. We’re aiming to disrupt the finance industry and lead the shift to a sector that is more sustainable and human-focused.”
Both recent graduates of Macquarie University – Philipos in law, commerce and entrepreneurship and Katsande in international business and finance – the pair met during one of the Incubator’s student-focused programs with the National University of Singapore. Discovering their values and aspirations aligned, the idea for Benevolence hatched in early 2019 and the company launched in February this year.
Benevolence has established impact partnerships with carefully vetted organisations working to support society’s most vulnerable. The Hunger Project, which empowers rural communities in developing nations to end hunger and poverty through grassroots strategies such as women’s microfinance, is among them, as is fellow incubator resident The Generous & The Grateful, which works to deliver homes and hope for Australians in need. Their goals are ambitious and exciting.
“By 2025, based on our figures with initial partner The Hunger Project, we could realistically impact around 10,000 people, and that’s huge,” Katsande explains.
“For us, it’s all about the impact; we begin with calculating that impact target and work back to determine how many clients we need and the bottom line goals required to get there. It’s also about remaining agile and flexible to respond to issues as they come up, such as the response bushfires and now, the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Customers are empowered, choosing for themselves the cause their commission is directed to. They also get unique tax advantages; donations are made in the customer’s name, with a tax-deductible receipt provided. None of this comes at a cost to getting the best deal – in fact, the opposite is true.
“We work with all lenders in the market to understand their various offerings and risk tolerances and identify those best fit for each client’s need, just as you’d expect from any mortgage broker,” says Philipos. “We also track how all the banks are doing ethically, for example, if they’re investing in fossil fuels, so our customers can make an informed choice and hold their bank accountable. The focus is on absolute transparency and trust.”
Despite only joining the incubator in February 2020, Katsande says the benefits are already being realised, from connecting to The Generous & The Grateful to the insights gained through mentoring, and access to interns, professional consulting support and a vibrant community of entrepreneurial innovators.
“The education programs have been fantastic; we’ve been able to step back and clarify our customer value proposition and understand the challenges faced in social enterprise,” she adds.
Beyond delivering a great product with genuine societal impact, Benevolence’s co-founders are determined to activate systemic change.
“Over $2 billion in broker commissions were paid in Australia in 2016 – just one per cent invested in impact work would equate to $60 million,” Philipos says.
“Imagine as a result of this, other brokers and businesses change their model. And then we have more social enterprises delivering their service or product while investing in better outcomes for humanity and the planet. That’s the dream.”