They are all famous investment organisations and have one thing in common: they are in the business of “Impact Investing”. Adam Draper’s Boost VC, the Rockefeller Foundation, ESG Investing, Singularity University, Maze, and… Eindhoven based Lumo Labs. In a recent article on Venture Beat, Amir Bozorgzadeh is explaining why this is such a big thing – and moreover, why we will see much more of this in the years to come.
First, what is Impact Investing? Bozorgzadeh:
“It refers to an approach of investing in which a company pursues not only a wholesome return in profit but also a positive impact for people and/or the planet.”
“A study entitled “Money Meets Morals” published by Swell Investing last September, found that the psychographic profiles of millennials and Generation Z’ers show they are significantly more inclined to view investing and values as going hand in hand with one another.”
In other words: the younger the investor, the more inclined they will be to impact investing. And we’re not at the finish line yet: with the current shift of decision-making authority, with baby boomers handing over the reins to the next generations, this trend will only become more visible. So what’s Lumo Labs doing that’s resulting in such an impact?
“Millennials will see $30 trillion in wealth under management being transitioned to them in the coming years, and they are twice as likely as previous generations to invest in social impact. So the change is not just societal, but will also be directly financial,” Lumo’s Bastiaan den Braber told Venture Beat. Lumo’s accelerator programs for emerging tech startups are targeting social impact startups. Den Braber: “The advent of very powerful emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, blockchain, and XR can make big differences when combined with smart money coming from venture capital”, he said. “The combination of the two has been the best that has ever happened to make sustainable development goals a reality.”
