Founding with Impact Focus Area

Impact-oriented entrepreneurs focus on developing solutions to societally relevant issues. With their innovative and unconventional business models, they employ new strategies in tackling challenges and contribute to positive societal change. They address social and ecological problems and contribute significantly to the creation of solutions influencing the transformative societal and economic change needed to achieve greater sustainability.

Despite the enormous potential and the growing awareness, the conditions for impact-oriented entrepreneurship remain less than optimal in Germany. Financial hurdles are the biggest problem faced by impact-oriented entrepreneurs. Germany falls short when it comes to support programs tailored specifically to the needs of impact-oriented entrepreneurs as well as suitable startup and follow-on financing opportunities. Addressing the specific needs of impact-oriented entrepreneurs with regard to funding and improving the conditions under which they operate can help these businesses reach their full impact potential.

In the “Founding with Impact” focus area, we work with a variety of partners to strengthen Germany’s impact-driven startup ecosystem. We create impact- and funding-related support offerings for impact-oriented entrepreneurs and other actors in the impact ecosystem:

• Capacity Building: Together with our partners, we build educational programs that are designed to strengthen entrepreneurs’ impact competencies and help them better communicate their impact.
• Standards: Together with our partners, we evaluate and develop unified standards for use in impact measurement and management. Establishing a more consistent means of impact due diligence should help improve funding opportunities for impact-oriented entrepreneurs.
• Transparency: We improve the information base on impact-oriented entrepreneurial activity in Germany and its impact investing market through companion studies.

The goal here is to help create a stronger environment for impact-oriented entrepreneurs so that they can better leverage their impact potential.