Why supporting the impact economy makes business sense

Businesses are looking beyond volunteering days, donations and fundraising challenges to have a positive impact on people and planet. Umesh Kumar, Head of Venture Support at Allia Impact, explains why the future of good corporate citizenship is about building ecosystems where mission-led businesses can thrive

Corporate social impact is changing. For decades, businesses have understood social impact largely through a familiar set of activities: charitable donations, volunteering days, fundraising challenges and community partnerships.

Done well, these activities made a difference. Raising money and giving time, offered clear benefit to projects and initiatives on one hand, while enhanced reputations and offering meaningful opportunities for employees was good for business on the other.

But the world is changing and the challenges facing countries like the UK are too complex for corporate impact to sit at the periphery of what a business does.

Mission-led entrepreneurs

If we are serious about solving real-world problems, we need to ask a bigger question about the role of business in society. What would happen if more businesses used their expertise, networks, procurement power, people and core strengths to help mission-led ventures grow?

Allia Impact has seen a sharp rise in big companies turning to us to explore how they could deploy what they know and do to solve issues facing people and planet. Often, the argument for doing so is framed within an ESG strategy that recognises delivering a positive impact also mitigates risks.

Knowledge transfer

The new era of corporate social impact is moving beyond the notion of being “generous”. Our business partners recognise they can have a more meaningful impact by sharing their expertise with mission-led entrepreneurs. It’s all about transferring knowledge to the impact economy.

Allia Impact builds business support programmes with founders determined to build businesses delivering positive impact – in health, ageing, climate, inequality, employment, digital inclusion and community resilience. Many have lived experience of the problems they are trying to solve.

But unfortunately, ambition is often not enough. A founder can have a strong mission and still need help with sales. They can have a brilliant product and still struggle with pricing. They can have deep community insight and still need support with governance, finance, marketing, procurement, leadership or investment readiness.

Unleashing potential

This is where our corporate partners step in. Not as saviours or by treating founders as beneficiaries but by becoming serious partners in the growth of mission-led business.

We see this in different ways across our partnerships. There is the investment manager CVC DIF, which is partnering our long-term accelerator model, supporting mission-led ventures through mentoring, advisory support, corporate connections and prize funding. There is also solicitor firm Taylor Rose in Peterborough, deploying its professional services expertise to local founders and social enterprises.

Our business partners also work with the charities and place-based organisations within our network, such as the housing association Peabody, to reach real communities. It is here that our business partners are discovering people with great ideas to solve social issues and play a role in unlocking them.

While each Allia Impact partnership is different, the principle is the same. The future of corporate social impact is not about supporting good causes. It is about building the conditions that nurture good businesses – and the next generation of mission-led entrepreneurs – to grow.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg – it is very likely the entrepreneurs you support today will become your suppliers, customers, innovators and, perhaps, even your CEOs, of tomorrow.