Growing the impact investing ecosystem is one of Spring Activator’s main goals when it comes to its Impact Investor Challenge programming. The first two Challenges resulted in direct investments of over $240,000 and a catalyzation of over $1million in total investment. Based on this success, and demand from across Canada for impact investor training, Spring is expanding the program nationally this April.
The Impact Investor Challenge is a 10-week program to grow the impact investor community. It guides early-stage and impact-curious investors into impact investing, empowers and funds impact entrepreneurs, and helps change the world through purpose-driven innovation. Over the course of the program, a cohort of investors and entrepreneurs dive deep into the ins and outs of impact investing and fundraising.
At its grand finale, the program culminates in the investor cohort awarding minimally $100,000 in investment to one winning startup. Since the launch of the Challenge in 2019, over $200,000 has been awarded in direct investments to Challenge winners: Victoria-based Open Ocean Robotics and Vancouver-based Indiegraf Media, both women-led, B.C. companies taking strides to create a positive impact on people and/or the planet.
“The competition has been instrumental in shaping a very transformative time for our company,” says Marnie Lett, Co-founder & CEO of Vernon-based Acterra Tech and 2020 Impact Investor Challenge finalist. “The scrutiny of opening your everyday decisions to a panel of people over this duration of time and intensity, for an investment fund where you have an authentic chance to finance your company, has been such a valuable experience. This is not pitch and leave. This is pitch and perform.”
“Supporting solutions proposed by diverse arrays of entrepreneurs means a greater likelihood of accelerating innovative ventures, and of holistically serving the needs of society,” explains Mari Mathews, Program Director for impact investing at Spring Activator. “The more investors we are able to introduce to impactful and inclusive investing, the more the world will change one impact investment at a time.”
About Spring Activator
A certified B Corporation®, Spring Activator is a global incubator, accelerator, and advisory firm that empowers entrepreneurs, investors, and entrepreneurial ecosystem builders to change the world through innovation. With its advisory services, it has helped over 70 different incubators, accelerators, foundations, and governments across 5 continents enhance their capacity to maximize impact both in their local communities and globally. Through its impact programs, Spring has helped more than 750 entrepreneurs create 350 companies and raise over $24M in funding.
For more information visit www.spring.is.
Contact: Mari Mathews – Program Director, Impact Investing | mari@spring.is
Learn more about the program and apply at: www.spring.is/programs/impact-investor-challenge
