How to Build a Social Impact Business

Embracing Unconventional Pathways: Merging Impact Investing and Social Entrepreneurship

Giving Compass' Take: • Embracing these three unconventional pathways toward impact supports the merging of impact investing and social entrepreneurship.  • How can donors embrace these pathways? How are these practices changing the philanthropic landscape? • Read part one of this series on impact investing and social entrepreneurship.  The need for impact investing to meet and support social entrepreneurship is growing stronger. And yet, we often witness a mismatch between the profiles of investors and those of social entrepreneurs. In Part 1, I explained how new rationales of decision-making can help enhance this match. Here I discuss why investors and entrepreneurs alike should embrace three unconventional pathways to impact. Promoting inclusive governance ‘Zebras fix what unicorns break‘ marks the emergence of a new kind of thinking in entrepreneurship and venture capital. Zebras, which designate ‘real’, smaller scale organisations that come in herds and work together to make the world a better place, are juxtaposed with the multi-billion USD companies that were once unicorn start-ups, almost from another world – and as some argue produced more problems than they solved. Embracing communication as action Recent research suggests, the classic proverb ‘walking the talk’ might be a thing of the past. The reason is that it draws a clear line of separation between communication and action. However, for example when it comes to Corporate Social Responsibility, talking is action. What scholars mean thereby is that responsible action only comes into being when organisations and their members talk about it. So talking and walking become one. Harnessing open social innovation The most intuitive pathway to scaling impact is organisational growth. But there are many alternatives of how a social venture’s impact can be increased. There are illustrative ‘guide books’ showcasing what social enterprises need to consider to enhance the positive effects they have on the world. Read the full article about merging impact investing and social entrepreneurship by Gorgi Krlev at Alliance Magazine.