Ben Cole

With a PhD in Environmental Engineering, Ben Cole is a social enterprise expert who has extensive international experience as a grant manager of market-based, water supply and sanitation projects, totalling up to $30 million.

Between 2008 and 2013 he founded, managed and sold a profitable, social enterprise – Karibon - in Vietnam. A genuine startup from invention through to sales, Dr Cole gained valuable experience in business development and management.

After 10 years working overseas, he returned to Western Australia with a desire to make positive changes in his own community. When he married into a family that has been farming in the Wheatbelt for four generations, he was inspired by the people around him who demonstrate resilience and passion for their land and community.