Multi-million boost for uni spin-outs
Social Investment Scotland (SIS), the “responsible” finance provider, has partnered with a dozen universities to create a multi-million-pound, spinout investment fund.
The ten-year Impact 12 fund will support social ventures created within the participating universities across the UK. It aims to support ventures motivated by beneficial social or environmental impact, rather than solely by profit.
Impact12hasbeendeveloped byedinburgh-basedsisinpartnership with the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge,northampton,coventry and eight universities comprising the Micra Project (Aston, Birmingham, Cranfield, Keele, Leicester, Loughborough, Nottinghamandwarwick).oxford Universityinnovationleadsthe consortium.
The fund, due to launch later this year with an initial fundraising target of £8 million, will support social ventures with “innovative finance tailored to their needs”, including equity investment and debt.
The capital raised will be deployed to support up to 15 social ventures from across the partner universities, with both seed and follow-on funding over the next ten years. Impact 12 will be managed by SIS Ventures, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SIS.
Alastair Davis, chief executive of SIS, said: “At a time when global economies are still suffering the impacts of the pandemic, Impact 12 provides a new and exciting vehicle for helping to support and fund some of the very best missiondriven businesses spinning out of universities’ research labs and accelerators.
“While Scotland will always remain our core focus for connecting capital with communities, for SIS Ventures, this fund also marks a new opportunity to enter new markets
where we feel able to support impact creation.
“We believe we can create considerable impact by supporting mission-aligned businesses which have the potential to be the cornerstone of our
economy in years to come.”
Professor Louise Richardson, vice-chancellor of the University of Oxford, said: “I am delighted to see the growing emphasis on social ventures. Over the past three
years, 11 companies targeting six of the UN’S Sustainable Development Goals have emerged from the four divisions of the university.”