Tanner Noakes is no stranger to setbacks.
“I have seen how quickly things can crumble. Some parts of life are beyond our control and that’s okay. It just means we need people in the world who are happy to reach out and come together when it’s needed most.”
The 2020 New Colombo Plan (NCP) Scholar, who recommenced his program in Singapore this year, hails from Beechmont, a small town inland from the Gold Coast with a population of approximately 800 people.
“My family lived near a beautiful community-owned mountain lodge called Binna Burra, which is located in one of the oldest rainforests in the world,” he said.
The not-for-profit mountain lodge, a place Tanner and his family actively supported, highlighted the unique environment and complex ecosystem found within Lamington (Woonoogoora) National Park.
In 2019, disaster struck Tanner, his family, and the community.
“The 8th of September 2019 was when the Black Summer bushfires began. It burnt most of it down; the lodge, and the critical infrastructure were gone,” he said.
“The community was disrupted, animals were displaced and, suddenly, hundreds of species that had thrived in the ecosystem were threatened. Everything we had worked for seemed like it was gone.”
Tanner had always had an interest in financial management, but it was through this experience that his priorities realigned to focus on investment for social impact.
“I wanted to find a way to help make ethical change. That’s when I stumbled onto social impact investing, which is a field that utilises financial and social intervention mechanisms to measure and fund social outcomes that otherwise would not have been funded,” he said.
“For the work that I do, it’s a bit like being an investment banker but for social impact.”
Tanner in front of the iconic Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. Credit: Tanner Noakes
Tanner was at university learning about social impact investment when the bushfires began. The Binna Burra community began the long and arduous process of rebuilding the lodge, but then the pandemic hit, which meant there was another eighteen months of no trading.
Tanner has already graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce from Griffith University and is now back on NCP program, following the easing of travel restrictions.
“My NCP program now reflects those experiences from the past couple of years. It’s about learning from social impact organisations with the idea that what I learn about impact investing abroad can be brought back to Australia.”
Tanner has been in Singapore for 5 months and has already had many memorable experiences.
“My work is based in this beautiful old shophouse, which at times hosts events,” he said.
“A few days ago, I came to the office and the usually busy street outside was completely empty. When I went to enter the building a huge cabal of security guards stopped me. It turns out the Mongolian Prime Minister was in there blocking the entrance!”
Apart from sometimes sharing the same office with foreign dignitaries, Tanner has had the opportunity to make tangible change through his internship.
“Impact investing is all about utilising private capital to help solve social issues,” he said.
“Right now, less than one per cent of Australia’s capital is put towards philanthropy. Imagine the difference that could be made by just doubling that.
“Through the NCP I’m doing 6 months of an internship and 6 months of language training. I’m going to learn Bahasa Indonesian.
“I think Indonesia will be critical to Australia’s impact investment, and if I’m to bring the expertise I learn back to Australia, I want the network to match.”
Tanner advises students to look at a career in finance in a different way to what may be considered the stereotype.
“What’s clear to everyone in the sector is that the social and environmental issues that the world currently has can’t be addressed by the solutions we’ve had in the past; these complex problems require new approaches, and new approaches need novel financing strategies,” he said.
“That’s what my NCP program is all about."
The building where Tanner is completing his work experience. Credit: Tanner Noakes