Impact Through Entrepreneurship

Impact Through Entrepreneurship

Sir Ronald Cohen

Father of impact investing

It's not enough to create a company that makes money. We need companies that address social and environmental issues. And this is where entrepreneurs can help. Join Sir Ronald Cohen as he explores impact through entrepreneurship and some notable examples.

It's not enough to create a company that makes money. We need companies that address social and environmental issues. And this is where entrepreneurs can help. Join Sir Ronald Cohen as he explores impact through entrepreneurship and some notable examples.

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This video is now available for free. It is also part of a premium, accredited video course. Speak to an expert today to watch more.

Impact Through Entrepreneurship

10 mins 25 secs

Overview

We are in the midst now of a huge impact revolution that has the potential to disrupt business models across every sector. We are seeing young entrepreneurs across the world envisaging business models that address the social or environmental issues they are passionate about. The more these companies sell, the more positive impact they can create. One example would be OrCam, a company that manufactures a voice activated device that is attached spectacles. It can read text and recognise faces. This can revolutionise the lives of 35 million blind people and 250 million visually impaired people globally. But if we try and apply impact thinking (how can this technology help the maximum number of people across the globe?) you would see that it could also be used to aid 800 million illiterate adults in the world. Thereby helping a total of 1.1 billion people instead of 285 million.

Key learning objectives:

  • Identify how entrepreneurs are reimagining business models

  • Understand how tying profit and impact can create new business models

  • Outline how impact may affect how we pay for higher education

Now free to watch

This video is now available for free. It is also part of a premium, accredited video course. Speak to an expert today to watch more.

Summary

What are some examples of how entrepreneurs have reimagined business models in practical ways?

We are seeing young entrepreneurs across the world envisaging business models that address the social or environmental issues they are passionate about, and bringing impact to their business models in ways that we had never contemplated before. For example:

  • A software company that might be using artificial intelligence to manage public transport in a more efficient way, could today measure the reduction in commuting time.
  • People working shorter hours could mean a reduction in CO2 emissions, the improvement in the lives of the drivers and a reduction in the number of accidents.

How does profit and impact tie in together to create new business models?

These new business models in every sector can measure and deliver impact in lock step with profit. This meant the more they sell of a product or service, the more impact they deliver and the more money they make.

How does impact change how we pay for higher education?

We see business models based on technology moving into every area now. For example, education. There are business models where education is provided to young people for free who then repay it out of their earnings when they get into employment. 

 

Now free to watch

This video is now available for free. It is also part of a premium, accredited video course. Speak to an expert today to watch more.

Sir Ronald Cohen

Sir Ronald Cohen

Sir Ronald Cohen is the Chairman of the Global Steering Group for Impact Investment, the Impact-Weighted Accounts Initiative at Harvard Business School and The Portland Trust. At the start of his career, he co-founded the private equity firm Apax Partners. In 2020, he wrote the bestselling book “Impact: Reshaping capitalism to drive real change”. Considered the Father of Social Investment, in 2012 he received the Rockefeller Foundation’s Innovation Award for innovation in social finance.

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