11 London universities set sights on becoming ‘engines of impact’ as new initiative backs social enterprise spin-outs
Exclusive preview: London Social Ventures will help students and academics to create their own social enterprises to support the communities in which their universities are based.
London's universities are gaining a fresh route to delivering impact in their local communities thanks to a new initiative which will help students, academics and researchers to develop and scale their own social enterprises.
Officially launching on 23 October, London Social Ventures aims to bring universities into the impact economy to help make London a more equal and sustainable city, according to its founder Amir Rizwan.
We want to get universities to start connecting with their communities more and just not be ivory towers
From launch, London Social Ventures will support 14 social ventures emerging from London universities, with Rizwan estimating it may support 20-25 over its pilot year. Of those 14 ventures, two thirds are women-led and a “sizeable majority” of leaders are from a BAME background; 60% of the ventures are led by academics and 40% are student-led.
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Three social enterprises from London universities supported by London Social Ventures Trimtots (pictured top): This community interest company was founded by academics at the Institute of Child Health at UCL to reduce the risk of obesity in preschool children. Simba Technologies: Conceived by London School of Economics students while conducting fieldwork in Nairobi, Simba Technologies provides data collection and AI tools to help impact-focused organisations with their impact measurement, via WhatsApp and text messages. Recycle Lab: Kings College alum Danielle Stephens created Recycle Lab after realising how much plastic waste she produced from her work in life sciences industry laboratories. The enterprise recycles single-use plastics from clinical waste. |
The pilot year of London Social Ventures is being funded by a grant from Research England’s connecting capability fund. Research England is a branch of UKRI, the UK government’s non-departmental public body which directs research and innovation funding.
Rizwan (pictured) said from his 11 years of experience in the impact investment sector, including roles at Big Society Capital and Macmillan Cancer Services, universities have rarely been involved, beyond attempts to get their endowments to invest in impact funds.
London’s universities could be an “engine of impact” in their local communities, believes Rizwan. He said: “What we want this work to do is to get universities to start connecting with their communities more and just not be ivory towers.”
Sir Stephen Timms, a minister at the Department for Work and Pensions and who will speak at next week’s launch, said he welcomed the launch of London Social Ventures: “Britain is likely to change for the better in the next few years. We need universities, like those coming together for this initiative, charities and the private sector all coming together in creative partnerships to bring about the scale of change that we need. I am very much looking forward to universities in this partnership helping deliver goals that all of us share.”
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There are 40 universities in London. The first 11 universities to join London Social Ventures are: City, Goldsmiths, King’s College, London Business School, London Metropolitan University, LSE, Queen Mary, UAL, UCL, University of East London and University of London.
Rizwan cites Queen Mary, based in Tower Hamlets, one of the poorest boroughs in London, as an example of a university which could deliver significant local impact. 45% of students at Queen Mary come from within 15km of the university’s Mile End campus, and Rizwan is confident that if those students had a viable pathway to create and grow purpose-led businesses they could develop solutions to some of the local community’s needs.
This “place-based” approach will be furthered by London Social Ventures’ enterprises being supported to develop local supply chains, employ local people and explore other routes to strengthen their local economies.
A network of partners
Beyond the universities, London Social Ventures aims to build a network of other partners across London which can support the new ventures, including corporates, local authorities, third sector organisations and public sector bodies.
Rizwan said he wants London Social Ventures and the spin-outs it supports to think beyond the “impact economy bubble”. He said: “We need to be thinking bigger. How is this work feeding into regenerating our high streets. How is this work feeding into supporting corporates in moving beyond CSR and actually thinking about impact? How does this work feed into inclusive and fair economic growth? How does this work feed into our public sector delivering services?”
To support this ambition, and enable the new ventures to reach sustainability, London Social Ventures is developing a ‘first buyer programme’. Through the programme new ventures will be supported to become part of London Social Ventures partners’ supply chains.
Over the course of its pilot year, London Social Ventures aims to build a pipeline of 50 to 80 ventures and gather data to demonstrate the viability of its concept. Rizwan said it was possible London Social Ventures would launch a fund to invest in the enterprises, centralised between the universities.
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