Weds, 21st June – The Bank of America and Greater Manchester Combined Authority-backed Growth Impact Fund, developed by Big Issue Invest and UnLtd, hosted a conference today to celebrate the first round of investees of the £25 million fund.
The Growth Impact Fund (GIF) was launched to provide investment and support to social enterprises that are dedicated to creating social impact and tackling inequity. The fund recently announced their first two investees – Neuropool and Doing What Really Matters (DWRM).
DWRM is a social enterprise that works with universities to offer degree courses to facilitate prisoner rehabilitation and has received £150,000 in investment from the Fund.
Neuropool is a neurodivergent talent platform which aims to get more than 10,000 neurodivergent people into employment by 2030 and has received £300,000 in funding from the Growth Impact Fund.
The conference took place in Manchester today, and brought together a plethora of social enterprises from the North West to connect with peers, funders, and partners, who all had a chance to learn more about the Growth Impact Fund, and how they can access similar support.
Lord Bird, the founder of The Big Issue, was the keynote speaker. He shared his experience of building a successful social enterprise – from starting the Big Issue to starting Big Issue Invest, the importance of the Growth Impact Fund and what it can do for social enterprises across the North West and UK.