Why won’t corporations invest in socially conscious startups?
Friday, December 20, 2013
In the spring of 2011, Burn Manufacturing, a small social impact business, caught the eye of General Electric representatives at a Fortune Brainstorm Green Conference.
A maker of sustainable burning stoves for communities in Africa, Burn Manufacturing was in its infancy when GE expressed an interest in investing funds into the smaller company. For more than two years, Burn Manufacturing eagerly engaged in discussions with GE before coming away with a $1m loan.
The GE money played an important role in getting the company off the ground, particularly in helping to build a stove manufacturing plant in Nairobi, Kenya. But Burn Manufacturing isn’t expecting another corporation to make a direct investment like GE did.
Source: The Guardian (link opens in a new window)
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