When a child in Mexico gets a head start at a high-quality, company-funded preschool, parents aren’t likely to care that the model for the Hipocampus learning centers has been borrowed from India.

“We believe if you do social enterprise, you are here to solve problems. It doesn’t matter if it’s your idea,” says Nicolas Demeilliers, co-founder of Connovo, the Mexican “replicator” that brought Hipocampus to Mexico and plans to scale it to 100 sites in five years.

In a sector that worships “innovation,” Connovo’s new idea is that for many challenges, solutions already exist. The trick is to scale what works with management talent, mentoring, financing and shared business services. Connovo is structured as a holding company that both owns equity in its portfolio companies and provides hands-on operational help.

The company intends to build and replicate a half-dozen impact ventures focused on education, in line with Sustainable Development Goal №4 (“Ensure inclusive and quality education for all”).

Read the full article by David Bank on ImpactAlpha