Building an Entrepreneur-centric Impact Ecosystem

Participants in the impact ecosystem — accelerators, investors, corporates, higher education, and other interested parties — all strive to support impact entrepreneurs according to their own unique strategies. Unfortunately, these collective efforts can be mystifying and even counterproductive for the very entrepreneurs we seek to support.

A better approach entails working together to evolve an ecosystem that offers a seamless continuum of technical support, networks, and capital to accompany entrepreneurs throughout their journeys. Collective solutions must overcome the capital mismatch between supply and demand, ensure diversity and inclusion in the enterprises we support, prioritize impact measurement and management, and bridge partnerships with corporations and universities.

In this live fireside chat and audience Q&A, Impact Entrepreneur’s Laurie Lane-Zucker welcomes social impact pioneer and global development leader Brigit Helms of Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship for an in-depth conversation about what works and what doesn’t when it comes to centering impact entrepreneurs. Spoiler alert: It’s about connecting the dots rather than strengthening silos.

Speakers:

Brigit Helms is Executive Director, Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship, the premier university-based social enterprise accelerator dedicated to eliminating poverty. For 30 years, Helms has created and delivered solutions to social and environmental challenges in 45 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America, in both the private and public sectors.

Laurie Lane-Zucker is Founder and CEO of Impact Entrepreneur, LLC, an impact economy business that hosts the Impact Entrepreneur Network — a large, global network of “systems-minded” entrepreneurs, investors and scholars of social and environmental innovation — and publishes Impact Entrepreneur Magazine. For over 30 years, Laurie has been a “pioneer” (Forbes) and recognized leader in sustainability, social enterprise, and impact investing. Laurie was the founding Executive Director of the international environmental organization, Orion Society, which publishes the celebrated Orion Magazine, as well as the founder of a global sustainability think-tank, the Triad Institute, and Hotfrog, a Founding B Corporation, GIIRS Pioneer Company, and the first company ever to complete an equity transaction on an impact investment exchange. Laurie is the bestselling and multiple award-winning publisher and editor of books and magazines on sustainability and social impact, and the author of numerous articles on entrepreneurship and impact investing.

Time: 12:00 PM – 1:15 PM

Location: Virtual

Date: Thursday, March 16, 2023