How London’s Social Entrepreneurs Are Leading The World, With Impact Tech And Innovative Purpose-Driven Companies

Over the last five years, London has emerged as one of the world’s leading hubs for impact tech, and VC investment into London’s purpose-driven companies has been growing rapidly. London & Partners

Over the last five years, London has emerged as one of the world’s leading hubs for impact tech, and VC investment into London’s purpose-driven companies has been growing rapidly. As the world continues to tackle issues such as climate change and social inequality, alongside an emphasis on building back better from the impacts of the pandemic, London is at the forefront of global innovation to find solutions to address the most pressing environmental and social challenges.

A few statistics on VC investment into impact tech in London to underline this exponential growth:

·      Investment in 2020 was 10.5 times more than investment in 2015, an increase of 945%. 

·      2020 was a record year for VC investment into London’s impact tech companies with $1.8bn in VC investment, second only to San Francisco globally. 

·      London is home to 7 impact tech unicorn companies including Arrival, Gousto and Babylon Health

·      London has the biggest cluster of impact tech companies globally, with 387 companies working towards one of the 17 UN sustainable development goals 

Source: Dealroom.co 

I set out to discover more on why London is leading the way and speak to some of the diverse founders spearheading the charge. I started with Janet Coyle, Managing Director at London & Partners (the city’s business growth and destination agency), who is tasked with creating economic growth for London that is resilient, sustainable and inclusive.

Janet Coyle, Managing Director at London & Partners by JOSHUA TUCKER | TUCKER IMAGES

I began by asking her what she felt was behind this explosive growth. “London’s position as a global tech hub and the fact that it is attracting such high levels of investment for purpose-driven tech companies is testament to the collaborative, forward-thinking and supportive tech ecosystem here. The city provides access to dedicated VCs and accelerators for purpose-driven tech companies as well as the right policy makers, infrastructure, world-class universities, and talent. All of these ingredients have given rise to the biggest cluster of impact tech startups globally. London is also home to a diverse customer base increasingly looking for sustainable and ethical tech solutions which makes it a great city for purpose-driven companies to scale,” she said. 

I asked her whether she thought Brexit and COVID had accelerated this for businesses. “Covid-19 and Brexit have both acted as accelerators for the good growth agenda, driving forward the importance of purpose-led business and the need for purpose to play an equally important role as profit in business. Covid-19 has also highlighted the pivotal role that tech can play to solve global challenges, and this has been a key driver in the rapid acceleration of VC investment into impact tech solutions we’ve witnessed in the last 18 months. Last year, there were 107 deals closed for London’s impact tech companies and electric vehicle company Arrival and online food kit company Gousto reached unicorn status in London,” said Coyle.

I asked “You’ve got a fantastic mayor in Sadiq Khan, the son of a Pakistani immigrant bus driver, and a city where over 230 languages are spoken. Do you think diversity is a core part of what makes London such a beacon for impact businesses?

She agreed, “London is a city of creative energy, born out of its rich heritage, culture, diversity and free-thinking mindset. It is arguably one of the world’s most diverse cities and this diversity is what makes London so unique – it is one of the city’s greatest strengths. Diversity fuels innovation and as a melting pot of different cultures, London is a place where ideas are born that change the world.” 

“The Black Lives Matter protests in response to the murder of George Floyd were also a stark reminder of the discrimination within our society and how much still needs to be done to end it. At London & Partners we have a responsibility to champion and promote the diversity of London. This means using our channels and business networks as effectively as possible in ways that enable us to make the biggest difference.”

To this end, London and Partners run a number of programmes to foster an inclusive tech ecosystem and support companies from a range of diverse communities. “These include a series of bespoke trade missions for Black and Mixed-ethnic founders and for LGBTQIA+ founders and a new 12-month programme BeyondHERizons to support a cohort of female founders to access funding to scale their businesses. More than 50% are Black or Mixed-ethnic Founders,” said Coyle. 

I set out to speak to some of these diverse founders and learn more about their experiences.

Natalie Campbell, Co-CEO at Belu

Natalie Campbell is the Co-CEO at Belu, a water company which gives 100% of their profits to the charity WaterAid to help transform lives worldwide with clean water. A self-described ‘girl from Northwest London, inspired by Puff Daddy’, she shared more about the company’s model and philosophy.

“Belu is a drinks business that puts people and the environment first. We sell sustainable Mineral Water, Mixers and filtration systems to the hospitality industry and workplaces. We do not export our products because there is zero need to ship water and drinks all over the world, it's such a bizarre practice. We operate our filtration service globally because it is not carbon-intensive and actually saves on material waste. 

She continued, “Our business strategy and operating model are underpinned by our purpose, 'to change the way the world sees water by 2030'. We invest all our profit in pursuit of this. We are most known for giving all our net profit to WaterAid, over £5m to date, to bring clean water, decent toilets, and good hygiene to everyone, everywhere. What people don't realize is that we are also BSI PAS2060 certified which is the only global standard in real carbon neutrality and we champion the circular economy.”

Belu is a drinks business that puts people and the environment first.

I asked her about something she had said: that London is unique as an ecosystem to support social enterprises because people value ‘New, different, niche and local’.

“In a near-post-pandemic world, communities all over the UK came together over a common purpose, to stay safe and healthy. With restrictions on where we could go and what we could do, inequalities and systemic issues very quickly surfaced, especially in London. London is my home, I've lived north and south, it was losing its heart and becoming a transactional grid of haves and have-nots. Overnight, people realized they were living in London but not really connected to their neighborhoods. This all changed in an instant, people suddenly started looking out for elderly neighbors, families struggling to make ends meet, and those shielding without a basic human need – interaction,” she said.

She continued, “Now, new places to eat, meet and be social are popping up, people value and support niche vendors, the small book shops, bakers, butchers, etc that only sell local produce or one-offs. Social enterprises are thriving because they have added more value than businesses that have spent years just taking. Fat Macy's, Change Please, Luminary Bakery, all good examples of businesses that are going from strength to strength because of their social spirit and local impact. It's like the days when I knew all the local shop owners as a kid, imagining what they are catalyzing by way of inspiration for a younger generation! Neighborhood businesses also stepped up to give back during the pandemic, my local coffee shops provided free school meals, some used their kitchens to prep meals for NHS workers and shared local information to help people stay safe. Yes, big business helped too but they had the money and resources, these smaller operators were hit hard and still stepped up.”

Alex Stephany, Founder of Beam

Another social entrepreneur, Alex Stephany from Beam agrees with the thesis of community self-empowerment. Beam is the world's first crowdfunding platform for homeless people – a truly innovative solution.

“I started Beam because I felt powerless: how could I make a real difference to people affected by homelessness? With Beam, I and over ten thousand other people are able to virtually 'meet' people affected by homelessness on our website beam.org and can fund the specific financial barriers they face. We're trying to create an amazing donor experience in terms of transparency and efficiency: you can see exactly where your donation goes via transparent budgets, share the journey of each person you support through email updates, and have the peace of mind that every single penny goes towards lifting someone out of homelessness for good.”

Jillian Kowalchuk, the Founder of Safe & the City

Another terrific new technology platform that is helping Londoners feel safe and supported is Safe and the City, a personal safety navigation app.

Jillian Kowalchuk, the Founder shared more. “Safe & the City is a free mobile application available in all UK cities and Berlin, Germany. The app looks and feels similar to other navigation apps, but there are a few distinct features. Straight away, you’ll see your position on the map, a red SOS button to reach Emergency services and a ‘Report’ button. You can enter your destination and you’ll receive walking or public transit directions.”

Safe & The City Map

“As you take the journey, Safe & the City scans millions of data sources to inform you on whether you’re heading into a dangerous situation or a crime hotspot. We provide in-app notifications along your journey with safety tips to keep you aware and how to protect yourself. When you finish your journey, you can score it to help improve the safety of these spaces, such as street lighting. When you ‘Report’ an incident, like catcalling/commenting, it stays anonymous unless you choose to share it with friends. We keep the app free for people by working with organisations, such as the police, mobility operators, technology companies, local businesses and cities, to improve the safety of the people in their spaces.”

It’s a brilliant idea and one that should be available in all cities worldwide. I asked her about the response to the app so far. ”The response has been overwhelmingly positive. People generally are surprised an app like this hasn’t existed until now, especially focusing on addressing normalized forms of abuse in public spaces, such as street harassment. We’re constantly getting requests for our app to expand to more cities worldwide.

May Al-Karooni, Founder and CEO of Globechain

Finally, I caught up with May Al-Karooni, Founder and CEO of Globechain which is leading a new market in reuse for enterprises in retail, construction, and hospitality, to reduce global waste and generate social, economic and environmental data on the impact. She shared how her journey started.

“I was working for an investment bank and we moved offices across the road. I found out we were disposing of perfectly usable furniture and office equipment, costing £50 000 per person for the move! I was shocked and began wondering why no one had digitised waste and connected enterprises to non profits and businesses to reuse and redistribute unneeded items measuring the ESG data impact. From there I set up Globechain with £800.”

Since then, the business has expanded at a staggering rate. “Over the past six years, Globechain has grown a network of over 10 000 members, redistributed 472 000+ items and diverted more than 7 750 000 kgs of waste from landfills with savings of over 4.1m to non profits. We provide internal reuse and loaning globally, with our external reuse solution in the UK, New York and Spain.”

Globechain is a data-centric reuse solution making waste a resource for everyone

She reflected on the journey, “We have so many incredible success stories, from medical equipment being used in hospitals and emergency relief camps in Africa, to furniture and kitchen equipment helping local charities set up community cafes and food banks to mannequin parts used in art projects to bring awareness to social causes. I am always amazed at how quickly the items are requested on our site (average 20 minutes in the UK) and what they are used for.” Globechain is now expanding internationally and is looking for purpose-driven partners to collaborate with.

For the final word, I turned back to Natalie Campbell from Belu. “There are so many systems shifts going on that I believe we'll see even more purpose-driven businesses that look at growth with fresh eyes because we're all entering a world we've never lived in before. Businesses are also providing a moral compass, more so than any time I remember before, not just in what they say but what and how they sell. We'll be rethinking business solutions for many years to come, and the climate emergency and powering an equitable world will be at the forefront, I hope and believe.”