Venture Library

Study ventures that look like yours

Showing 30 of 30 ventures

Age Co UK

Industry

Financial Services

Impact Area

Employment, Health

Improving quality of life for older adults

Apollo Agriculture

Industry

Agriculture, Financial Services

Impact Area

Agriculture

Transforming smallholder farming through bundled finance and inputs

Aravind Eye Care

Industry

Healthcare

Impact Area

Health

Eliminating needless blindness through cross-subsidy

Auticon

Industry

ICT

Impact Area

Employment

Creating employment for autistic adults through neurodiversity-as-strength

BioLite

Industry

Clean Energy, Manufacturing

Impact Area

Energy, Health

Funding clean energy access for families in poverty through every outdoor adventure purchase

Buy Me Once

Industry

—

Impact Area

Waste

Reducing waste by championing products built to last

d.light

Industry

Clean Energy

Impact Area

Energy, Climate

Replacing kerosene with affordable solar power

Design Joy

Industry

Creative Industries

Impact Area

—

Productised design through subscription model

Fairphone

Industry

Manufacturing, Circular Economy

Impact Area

Waste, Employment

Proving consumer electronics can be made fairly and built to last — transforming an industry built on exploitation and planned obsolescence

Intrepid Travel

Industry

Tourism Hospitality

Impact Area

Climate, Employment

Proving that travel can benefit communities and protect environments, not extract from them

Linking Your Thinking

Industry

Education

Impact Area

Education

Teaching connected thinking and knowledge management

M-KOPA

Industry

Financial Services, Clean Energy

Impact Area

Financial Services, Energy

Financial inclusion through pay-as-you-go asset financing

Multiverse

Industry

Education, ICT

Impact Area

Education, Employment

Democratising access to tech careers through apprenticeships

Ness Labs

Industry

—

Impact Area

Health, Education

Mindful productivity grounded in neuroscience

Nightingale Housing

Industry

Housing

Impact Area

Real Estate, Climate

Delivering fossil-fuel-free homes at cost to break Australia's housing affordability crisis

Oddbox

Industry

Food Beverage

Impact Area

Waste, Climate

Rescuing wonky produce from farm-level waste

OpenSource Ecology

Industry

Education, Manufacturing

Impact Area

SDG 04 Quality Education

Democratising access to industrial machinery through open-source design

Patagonia

Industry

Apparel

Impact Area

Biodiversity and Ecosystems

Environmental conservation through business

Plastic Bank

Industry

Circular Economy, Oceans

Impact Area

Oceans and Coastal Zones

Making plastic too valuable to discard — stopping ocean pollution by turning waste into income for coastal communities

Plausible Analytics

Industry

ICT

Impact Area

SDG 16 Peace Justice and Strong Institutions

Privacy-respecting web analytics

Ridwell

Industry

Circular Economy

Impact Area

Waste

Making hard-to-recycle household waste effortless to handle

SOIL

Industry

Water Sanitation

Impact Area

Health, Water

Turning human waste into agricultural compost to deliver safe sanitation and restore Haiti's depleted soils

TerraCycle

Industry

Circular Economy

Impact Area

Waste, Pollution

Eliminating waste through recycling innovation

The Big Issue

Industry

Creative Industries

Impact Area

Employment, Financial Services

Creating income pathways for people experiencing homelessness

The Pathless Path

Industry

Creative Industries

Impact Area

Education

Reimagining work beyond the default career path

Toast Ale

Industry

Food Beverage

Impact Area

Waste

Circular economy through food waste brewing

Tony's Chocolonely

Industry

Food Beverage

Impact Area

SDG 01 No Poverty

Ending exploitation in cocoa supply chains

Too Good To Go

Industry

Food Beverage, ICT

Impact Area

Climate, Waste

Reducing food waste through marketplace dynamics

VEJA

Industry

Apparel

Impact Area

Biodiversity and Ecosystems

Transparent, fair-trade supply chains in fashion

Zipline

Industry

Healthcare, Logistics

Impact Area

Health, Climate

Eliminating geographic barriers to healthcare through autonomous drone delivery

Age Co UK

A social enterprise arm of Age UK providing financial services and products designed for older people, with all profits reinvested into charitable support. Combines commercial insurance, funeral planning, and home services with a mission to improve later life for everyone.

Improving quality of life for older adults

Stage
Scale Stage
Industry
Financial Services
Geography
United Kingdom, Europe
Impact Area
Employment, Health, SDG 03 Good Health and Well-being, SDG 08 Decent Work and Economic Growth
Impact Mechanism
Direct Service, Reinvest Surplus
Legal Structure
Standard Limited Company
Revenue Source
Product Sales, Service Fees

Apollo Agriculture

A Kenya-based agri-fintech that bundles seeds, fertiliser, credit, and training for smallholder farmers — all accessible via mobile phone. Machine learning powers instant loan decisions, helping subsistence farmers become profitable commercial growers.

Transforming smallholder farming through bundled finance and inputs

Stage
Scale Stage
Industry
Agriculture, Financial Services
Geography
Kenya, Africa
Impact Area
Agriculture, SDG 01 No Poverty, SDG 02 Zero Hunger
Impact Mechanism
Product Service Impact, Capacity Building
Revenue Source
Product Sales, Service Fees

Aravind Eye Care

The world's largest eye care provider, performing hundreds of thousands of surgeries annually. Paying patients cross-subsidise free care for those who can't afford it — a high-volume, high-quality model that eliminates needless blindness.

Eliminating needless blindness through cross-subsidy

Stage
Scale Stage
Industry
Healthcare
Geography
India, Asia
Impact Area
Health
Impact Mechanism
Cross Subsidy, Direct Service
Revenue Source
Service Fees, Product Sales

Auticon

An IT consulting firm that exclusively employs autistic adults as technology consultants, turning neurodiversity into a competitive advantage. Clients get exceptional analytical talent while consultants gain meaningful careers with tailored workplace support.

Creating employment for autistic adults through neurodiversity-as-strength

Stage
Scale Stage
Industry
ICT
Geography
Germany, Europe
Impact Area
Employment, Diversity and Inclusion, SDG 08 Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
Impact Mechanism
Employment Model, Direct Service
Legal Structure
Standard Limited Company
Revenue Source
Service Fees
Funding Source
Impact Equity

BioLite

BioLite designs and sells off-grid energy products across two parallel markets: premium outdoor gear for recreation consumers in developed countries, and affordable clean cookstoves and solar home systems for energy-poor households in Sub-Saharan Africa and India. Revenue and insights from outdoor products cross-subsidize emerging-market clean energy access, enabling BioLite to reach 14 million people with verified impact while building a commercially sustainable social enterprise.

Funding clean energy access for families in poverty through every outdoor adventure purchase

Stage
Scale Stage
Industry
Clean Energy, Manufacturing
Geography
United States, North America
Impact Area
Energy, Health, Climate, SDG 07 Affordable and Clean Energy, SDG 03 Good Health and Well-being, SDG 13 Climate Action, SDG 05 Gender Equality
Impact Mechanism
Cross Subsidy, Product Service Impact, Direct Service
Legal Structure
Benefit Corporation
Revenue Source
Product Sales, Outcome Payment
Funding Source
Impact Equity, Grant, Concessional Debt

Buy Me Once

An online marketplace curating durable, long-lasting products to shift consumer behaviour from throwaway buying to mindful purchasing. Founded after a Le Creuset pot inspired the question: why aren't all products built to last?

Reducing waste by championing products built to last

Stage
Scale Stage
Geography
United Kingdom, Europe
Impact Area
Waste, SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production
Impact Mechanism
Product Service Impact, Systems Change
Revenue Source
Product Sales
Funding Source
Crowdfunding

d.light

Designs and distributes affordable solar-powered products for households without reliable electricity, reaching over 200 million people across 70+ countries. Pay-as-you-go financing makes clean energy accessible to families living on less than $5 a day.

Replacing kerosene with affordable solar power

Stage
Scale Stage
Industry
Clean Energy
Geography
Kenya, Africa
Impact Area
Energy, SDG 07 Affordable and Clean Energy, Climate
Impact Mechanism
Product Service Impact
Revenue Source
Product Sales

Design Joy

A subscription-based design agency run by a single designer, offering unlimited design requests for a flat monthly fee. Demonstrates that productised services can scale quality creative work without scaling headcount.

Productised design through subscription model

Stage
Scale Stage
Industry
Creative Industries
Geography
United States, North America
Impact Mechanism
Product Service Impact
Legal Structure
Standard Limited Company
Revenue Source
Service Fees, Subscription

Fairphone

Fairphone is a Dutch social enterprise designing modular, self-repairable smartphones with ethically sourced materials, living wage bonuses for factory workers, and 7–8 years of software support. It sells to sustainability-oriented individual consumers and European enterprises and public bodies, using the product itself as proof that ethical consumer electronics are commercially viable.

Proving consumer electronics can be made fairly and built to last — transforming an industry built on exploitation and planned obsolescence

Stage
Scale Stage
Industry
Manufacturing, Circular Economy
Geography
Netherlands, Europe
Impact Area
Waste, Employment, SDG 08 Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production, SDG 13 Climate Action
Impact Mechanism
Product Service Impact, Systems Change, Policy Advocacy
Legal Structure
Standard Limited Company
Revenue Source
Product Sales
Funding Source
Impact Equity, Crowdfunding

Intrepid Travel

Intrepid Travel is the world's largest adventure travel operator, running 1,057+ small-group trips across 118 countries, led exclusively by local guides and sourced through 84% locally owned suppliers. Founded in 1989 in Melbourne and mission-locked as a B Corp, it channels tourism spending directly into destination communities while actively reducing the industry's environmental and social harm. In FY2025 it served 317,880 travelers and generated AUD $809 million in revenue, proving that responsible travel is commercially superior.

Proving that travel can benefit communities and protect environments, not extract from them

Stage
Scale Stage
Industry
Tourism Hospitality
Geography
Australia, Oceania
Impact Area
Climate, Employment, SDG 08 Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production, SDG 13 Climate Action
Impact Mechanism
Employment Model, Product Service Impact, Systems Change, Reinvest Surplus
Legal Structure
Benefit Corporation
Revenue Source
Product Sales, Service Fees
Funding Source
Impact Equity

Linking Your Thinking

A premium knowledge management education platform teaching the LYT methodology for organising digital notes and ideas. Serves 1,600+ students across 60+ countries through workshops, digital products, and a lifetime community.

Teaching connected thinking and knowledge management

Stage
Scale Stage
Industry
Education
Geography
United States, North America
Impact Area
Education
Impact Mechanism
Capacity Building
Revenue Source
Product Sales, Membership Dues

M-KOPA

Pioneered pay-as-you-go asset financing in Africa, enabling low-income customers to acquire solar systems, smartphones, and other essentials through mobile money micropayments. Over 5 million customers served across Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa.

Financial inclusion through pay-as-you-go asset financing

Stage
Scale Stage
Industry
Financial Services, Clean Energy, ICT
Geography
Kenya, Africa
Impact Area
Financial Services, Energy, Climate, SDG 01 No Poverty, SDG 07 Affordable and Clean Energy, SDG 13 Climate Action
Impact Mechanism
Product Service Impact
Revenue Source
Product Sales, Service Fees

Multiverse

An apprenticeship platform that creates pathways into tech careers for people without traditional university degrees. Employers pay for high-quality training programmes, while apprentices earn while they learn — closing opportunity gaps at scale.

Democratising access to tech careers through apprenticeships

Stage
Scale Stage
Industry
Education, ICT
Geography
United Kingdom, Europe
Impact Area
Education, Employment, Diversity and Inclusion, SDG 04 Quality Education, SDG 08 Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
Impact Mechanism
Capacity Building
Revenue Source
Service Fees

Ness Labs

A neuroscience-backed community and content platform helping knowledge workers achieve mindful productivity without burnout. Combines research translation, community learning, and coaching into a membership model.

Mindful productivity grounded in neuroscience

Stage
Scale Stage
Geography
United Kingdom, Europe
Impact Area
Health, Education
Revenue Source
Membership Dues, Advertising Sponsorship, Service Fees

Nightingale Housing

Nightingale Housing is an Australian registered charity that develops fossil-fuel-free apartments and sells them at cost via a randomised ballot, eliminating developer profit. Up to 20% of homes in each project are pre-allocated to community housing providers serving vulnerable Australians.

Delivering fossil-fuel-free homes at cost to break Australia's housing affordability crisis

Stage
Scale Stage
Industry
Housing
Geography
Australia, Oceania
Impact Area
Real Estate, Climate, SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities, SDG 13 Climate Action, SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
Impact Mechanism
Cross Subsidy, Systems Change, Direct Service
Legal Structure
Charity
Revenue Source
Service Fees, Philanthropy
Funding Source
Impact Equity, Grant, Donation

Oddbox

A subscription service delivering fruit and vegetables rejected by supermarkets for cosmetic reasons, sourced directly from farmers at fair prices. Rescues produce at the farm level — cutting food waste while offering customers fresh food at ~30% below typical prices.

Rescuing wonky produce from farm-level waste

Stage
Scale Stage
Industry
Food Beverage
Geography
United Kingdom, Europe
Impact Area
Waste, Climate, SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production, SDG 13 Climate Action, SDG 02 Zero Hunger
Impact Mechanism
Product Service Impact
Revenue Source
Subscription

OpenSource Ecology

Develops open-source blueprints for essential industrial machines — from tractors to 3D printers — that anyone can build for a fraction of commercial cost. A nonprofit pursuing technological sovereignty through collaborative design and education.

Democratising access to industrial machinery through open-source design

Stage
Scale Stage
Industry
Education, Manufacturing
Geography
United States, North America
Impact Area
SDG 04 Quality Education, SDG 09 Industry Innovation and Infrastructure
Impact Mechanism
Product Service Impact, Capacity Building
Legal Structure
Nonprofit Inc
Revenue Source
Philanthropy, Service Fees, Product Sales
Funding Source
Grant, Donation

Patagonia

A purpose-driven outdoor apparel company that donates 1% of all sales to environmental causes and has given over $100M annually to climate action. Proves that commercial success and environmental activism can reinforce each other at billion-dollar scale.

Environmental conservation through business

Stage
Scale Stage
Industry
Apparel
Geography
United States, North America
Impact Area
Biodiversity and Ecosystems, Climate, Oceans and Coastal Zones, Pollution, SDG 06 Clean Water and Sanitation, SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production, SDG 13 Climate Action, SDG 14 Life Below Water, SDG 15 Life on Land
Impact Mechanism
Capacity Building, Policy Advocacy, Product Service Impact, Reinvest Surplus, Research Innovation
Legal Structure
Trust
Revenue Source
Product Sales

Plastic Bank

Plastic Bank is a for-profit social enterprise that prevents ocean plastic pollution by establishing blockchain-verified plastic collection ecosystems in coastal communities across developing nations, paying above-market rates to collectors and converting the material into traceable Social Plastic feedstock and verified plastic credits sold to corporate partners. Its dual-impact model treats plastic as currency, simultaneously creating dignified livelihoods and financial inclusion for 57,000+ coastal community members while diverting over 160 million kilograms of ocean-bound plastic.

Making plastic too valuable to discard — stopping ocean pollution by turning waste into income for coastal communities

Stage
Scale Stage
Industry
Circular Economy, Oceans, Financial Services
Geography
Canada, North America
Impact Area
Oceans and Coastal Zones, Pollution, Waste, Employment, Financial Services, SDG 01 No Poverty, SDG 14 Life Below Water
Impact Mechanism
Employment Model, Product Service Impact, Systems Change
Legal Structure
Standard Limited Company
Revenue Source
Product Sales, Service Fees, Subscription

Plausible Analytics

A privacy-first web analytics tool that provides useful traffic insights without cookies, tracking, or personal data collection. An open-source, EU-hosted alternative to Google Analytics — proving ethical analytics can be a sustainable business.

Privacy-respecting web analytics

Stage
Growth Stage
Industry
ICT
Geography
Estonia, Europe
Impact Area
SDG 16 Peace Justice and Strong Institutions
Impact Mechanism
Product Service Impact
Revenue Source
Subscription

Ridwell

A subscription pickup service for hard-to-recycle household items — batteries, textiles, plastic film, light bulbs — that would otherwise end up in landfill. Makes responsible disposal effortless by collecting from your doorstep and routing materials to proper recycling.

Making hard-to-recycle household waste effortless to handle

Stage
Growth Stage
Industry
Circular Economy
Geography
United States, North America
Impact Area
Waste, SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production
Impact Mechanism
Product Service Impact
Revenue Source
Subscription

SOIL

SOIL (Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods) is a Haitian social enterprise delivering container-based sanitation to urban households through waterless toilets with weekly collection, transforming collected waste via thermophilic composting into Konpòs Lakay agricultural compost. Founded in 2006, SOIL currently serves 21,000+ people daily in Cap-Haïtien and surrounding communities, and in January 2026 secured the world's first government Results-Based Financing contract for container-based sanitation services from Haiti's DINEPA authority.

Turning human waste into agricultural compost to deliver safe sanitation and restore Haiti's depleted soils

Stage
Scale Stage
Industry
Water Sanitation, Circular Economy, Agriculture
Geography
Haiti, North America
Impact Area
Health, Water, Agriculture, Climate, SDG 06 Clean Water and Sanitation, SDG 03 Good Health and Well-being, SDG 13 Climate Action
Impact Mechanism
Direct Service, Employment Model, Research Innovation, Systems Change
Legal Structure
Nonprofit Inc
Revenue Source
Subscription, Product Sales, Philanthropy, Outcome Payment, Government Contract
Funding Source
Grant, Donation, CSR Sponsorship

TerraCycle

Collects and recycles hard-to-recycle waste through brand-sponsored take-back programmes, paid recycling boxes, and a reusable packaging platform. Operates in 21 countries, turning materials that would otherwise go to landfill into raw inputs for new products.

Eliminating waste through recycling innovation

Stage
Scale Stage
Industry
Circular Economy
Geography
United States, North America
Impact Area
Waste, Pollution
Impact Mechanism
Product Service Impact
Revenue Source
Product Sales, Service Fees

The Big Issue

The UK's leading street newspaper, enabling homeless and vulnerably housed people to earn income as micro-entrepreneurs — buy for £2, sell for £4, keep the profit. Since 1991, over 108,000 vendors have earned £154M+ through the model.

Creating income pathways for people experiencing homelessness

Stage
Scale Stage
Industry
Creative Industries, Financial Services
Geography
United Kingdom, Europe
Impact Area
SDG 01 No Poverty, SDG 08 Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities, SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities, Employment, Financial Services
Impact Mechanism
Employment Model, Direct Service, Capacity Building, Policy Advocacy
Revenue Source
Product Sales, Advertising Sponsorship, Subscription, Service Fees, Philanthropy
Funding Source
Donation, Grant, CSR Sponsorship

The Pathless Path

A book and content platform exploring alternative approaches to work and career beyond the traditional employment path. Combines personal narrative with research to help people design self-directed, meaningful working lives.

Reimagining work beyond the default career path

Stage
Scale Stage
Industry
Creative Industries
Geography
United States, North America
Impact Area
Education
Impact Mechanism
Capacity Building
Revenue Source
Product Sales, Service Fees

Toast Ale

Brews craft beer from surplus bread that would otherwise go to landfill, with all profits funding environmental charities. A circular economy model proving food waste can become both a viable business and a vehicle for environmental action.

Circular economy through food waste brewing

Stage
Growth Stage
Industry
Food Beverage
Geography
United Kingdom, Europe
Impact Area
Waste, SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production, SDG 13 Climate Action
Impact Mechanism
Product Service Impact
Legal Structure
Benefit Corporation
Revenue Source
Product Sales
Funding Source
Impact Equity

Tony's Chocolonely

An impact-driven chocolate company on a mission to end exploitation in the cocoa industry. Pays above-market prices to farmers, invests in cooperatives, and uses its deliberately unequally divided bar to make supply chain injustice impossible to ignore.

Ending exploitation in cocoa supply chains

Stage
Scale Stage
Industry
Food Beverage
Geography
Netherlands, Europe
Impact Area
SDG 01 No Poverty, SDG 08 Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
Impact Mechanism
Product Service Impact, Direct Service, Systems Change
Legal Structure
Benefit Corporation
Revenue Source
Product Sales, Licensing Royalty

Too Good To Go

A marketplace connecting consumers with restaurants and shops to rescue surplus food at a discount. Businesses recover costs, consumers save money, and millions of meals are saved from landfill — operating in 17 countries with 100M+ users.

Reducing food waste through marketplace dynamics

Stage
Scale Stage
Industry
Food Beverage, ICT
Geography
Denmark, Europe
Impact Area
SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production, SDG 13 Climate Action, Climate, Waste
Impact Mechanism
Product Service Impact
Legal Structure
Benefit Corporation
Revenue Source
Platform Commission, Subscription

VEJA

Ethical sneakers made with fair-trade rubber from the Amazon, organic cotton from Brazil, and full supply chain transparency. Proves that desirable design and responsible production can coexist at scale — without any conventional advertising.

Transparent, fair-trade supply chains in fashion

Stage
Scale Stage
Industry
Apparel
Geography
France, Europe
Impact Area
SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production, SDG 13 Climate Action, SDG 15 Life on Land, Biodiversity and Ecosystems, Pollution, Waste, Climate
Impact Mechanism
Product Service Impact
Revenue Source
Product Sales

Zipline

Zipline designs, manufactures and operates the world's largest autonomous drone delivery system, delivering medical supplies across Africa and consumer goods in the United States. By eliminating last-mile logistics barriers, it transforms healthcare access for underserved populations while building a commercially sustainable global delivery network.

Eliminating geographic barriers to healthcare through autonomous drone delivery

Stage
Scale Stage
Industry
Healthcare, Logistics
Geography
United States, North America
Impact Area
Health, SDG 03 Good Health and Well-being, SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities, Climate
Impact Mechanism
Direct Service, Product Service Impact, Systems Change
Legal Structure
Standard Limited Company
Revenue Source
Government Contract, Service Fees, Outcome Payment
Funding Source
Impact Equity, Grant