Unleashing the social entrepreneurship potential
The number of social entrepreneurs around the world is growing rapidly. They are full of innovative ideas on how to address different social issues in an effective way. At the same time, individuals, companies and foundations are searching for new and better ways to make a social impact, moving away from traditional checkbook philanthropy towards making their social investments as seriously as any other investment decision.
Yet these two groups, social entrepreneurs and philanthropists/social investors, have been lacking the knowledge and/or mechanisms to connect with each other and collaborate. Why? This market is highly fragmented and built around old structures, where transparency and interaction between market players is limited. This means that many potential social investments are not taking place or resources are not directed at the best projects, meaning much potential social impact is left unrealized.
By enabling a holistic approach to social investing, and by using the advantages of technology, we empower each of these stakeholders to apply their unique strengths towards achieving a social impact. We provide social entrepreneurs access to the much needed capital, resources and know-how to implement innovative and sustainable solutions. At the same time, we offer philanthropists/social investors a broad range of social investment opportunities, ranging from pure “social return on investment” to “social- and financial return on investment”.
Bridging the equity and know-how gaps
Equity, Infrastructure, Know-How, or Networking? Just as in other start-up and venture capital markets, social entrepreneurs face the challenge of bridging the equity gap to achieve scale and sustainable growth. Capital funding however, will usually only do part of the job. While having great ideas and good market knowledge, social entrepreneurs often lack the business planning and/or project management skills, as well as access to the necessary infrastructure to effectively implement their ideas. Direct access to networks for exchanging ideas/experience and identifying synergies with peers can add value for many social entrepreneurs.
This is why we take a holistic approach to social investing, where talented social entrepreneurs are provided access to an entire range of resources from the numerous social investors using our marketplace, and social investors are provided an universe of opportunities to invest based on their mindset and strengths.
