Miller Center Annual Report: Impact Investing in Social Enterprises

💡 Diving into the funding question For a long time, raising capital didn’t look rosy, especially for non-tech or lifestyle businesses. Many founders struggled because traditional investors weren’t always sure how to commercialize these opportunities. But the landscape is shifting. Over the last 12 months, we’ve seen: ✅ More founder-operator investors entering the ecosystem. ✅ Investors with real experience in both lifestyle and tech businesses. ✅ Innovative financing instruments like pipeline-based finance (e.g., Pipe.com) making funding accessible in new ways. This signals a huge opportunity: funding is no longer just for “high-growth tech” companies. Founders across different industries now have more doors opening, if they know how to position themselves. The question is: are you ready to leverage this new wave of founder-friendly funding? #StartupFunding #Entrepreneurship #Founders #InvestorInsights #BusinessGrowth

Capital Is a Tool, Not a Trophy Too many founders treat fundraising like the finish line - a badge of honor to show off. But capital is not validation. It’s leverage. The real purpose of raising money is simple: ➡️ Build a stronger product ➡️ Scale a team that can execute ➡️ Reach customers faster ➡️ Create measurable impact The best investors already know this. The best founders never forget it. 💡 Money doesn’t prove your business works. Execution does. The moment fundraising becomes about prestige, misalignment follows — with investors, with your team, and even with your own vision. 👉 Treat capital as what it really is: a tool. Use it wisely, and it becomes growth. #Fundraising #StartupAdvice #CapitalRaising #Entrepreneurship #InvestorRelations #BusinessGrowth

Most founders think fundraising is about convincing investors. In reality, it’s about clarity. In India today, there’s no shortage of capital — what’s missing is the match between the right founder and the right fund. I’ve seen great ideas struggle simply because the entrepreneur didn’t know whom to talk to or how to position their story. From my work with early-stage teams, I’ve learned that funding comes naturally when your model scales fast, your differentiation is sharp, and your intent is clear. Investors don’t just back ideas — they back momentum. What do you think matters more in fundraising — timing, network, or clarity of vision? #StartupFunding #FounderAdvice #EcosystemGrowth

🚀 From pitch to partnership. Raising capital is one of the biggest challenges startup founders face—but it doesn’t look the same for everyone. Vanderbilt Business alumni share what it takes to navigate investors, build authentic networks, and find the right fit between founders and funders. 📖 Read their insights on fundraising in 2025, from pre-seed to Series A and beyond: https://ow.ly/sKs850X2jJg #VanderbiltBusiness #Entrepreneurship #AlumniSpotlight | Rhodes Amaker | Aaron Dorn | Derek Banyard, MD, MS, MBA | Rehan Choudhry | Brittani Roberts

The Brutal Truth About Fundraising You pitch. You wait. You hope. And then… silence. Fundraising can feel impossible. Some people make it look effortless. Why not you? Did you do something wrong? Miss the mark? Fail? I’ve been there. Many times. Back in 2015, I pitched investors on an idea so innovative in healthcare, they couldn’t see it. They didn’t get it. And I didn’t change my story, I believed in it. Today, the same vision is understood, accepted, and valued. But that didn’t happen overnight. Here’s what I learned: #1 It’s not always you. Timing, market readiness, and investor mindset matter. #2 Know your audience. Investors are humans, risk-takers, cautious, strategic, opportunistic. Learn what drives them. #3 Right money matters more than any money. The wrong investor can do more damage than the right one can help. Fundraising isn’t luck. It’s persistence, strategy, and empathy. Understand your investor, help them succeed, and align visions. If you feel stuck or lost, DM me, I might just spill a hint to the right mindset. You never know. #Fundraising #StartupLife #Entrepreneurship #InvestorStrategy #Persistence #HealthcareInnovation #MRIid #Indonesia #VentureCapital #FamilyOffice

Raising capital is a structured process — not a guessing game. Like sales, successful fundraising relies on discipline, targeting, and personalization. Founders who focus on investors aligned with their stage and sector dramatically increase their odds of success. Investors make money by deploying capital, not by taking meetings. The goal is to help them see how your business fits their mandate. Not securing funding within 30–60 days isn’t failure — it’s part of the process. The key is persistence, refinement, and maintaining a data-driven approach. #Fundraising #StartupStrategy #VentureCapital #Entrepreneurship #WeGetYouFunded #FidelmanAndCo

What if the next generation of entrepreneurs didn’t have to start from zero? Through the UK Pilot Programme, we’re reimagining what support for socially conscious founders looks like: ✔️ Resolving challenges, providing accountability creating a safe space that provide breathing room to focus on building ✔️1-2-1 Personal and Business coaching for clarity of growth plan  ✔️ An ecosystem where mentorship, funding, and wisdom meet This isn’t charity. It’s strategic empowerment. Because too many brilliant ideas are lost when founders are forced to choose between survival and innovation. With VC firms like Real Ventures a new landscape is forming that proves purpose-driven entrepreneurship can thrive when given the right foundations. This October at the 3rd Socially Conscious Entrepreneurs Conference, we’ll share more about how this pilo aim to support a new wave of impact-driven founders. 🎟️ Learn more → www.thescentrepreneurs.com #SCE2025 #TonyDada #FaithDrivenBusiness #EntrepreneurshipWithPurpose #UKPilot #LegacyLeadership

📊 Map of Allies and Governance: The Key to a Functioning Ecosystem In over 25 years of supporting #SMEs and #impactstartups, I’ve confirmed one thing: no project thrives in isolation. The models that truly scale are those where each actor knows their role and there is a governance framework coordinating efforts. In a solid ecosystem, we find different allies: 🔹 Those who define the strategy and impact vision 🔹 Those who finance and take risks to get things started 🔹 Those who execute on the ground and make things happen 🔹 Those who regulate and set the rules of the game 🔹 Those who measure and generate evidence to improve When these roles align, a program stops depending on isolated efforts and becomes a sustainable, replicable model. 👉 In this carousel, I share a diagram with the key actors we identify at FUNDES and Fundamental when working with ecosystems of small businesses and entrepreneurs in Latin America. Is there any actor missing in your ecosystem?

💡𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗮𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿𝘀: 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 Women-led social enterprises consistently deliver strong environmental and social impact, often generating higher returns per invested dollar than male-founded ventures— yet they continue to face a funding gap...🧐 Together with Bayer Foundation we are adressing this issue through the "Woman Entrepreneurs Funding" initiative, channeling more capital toward woman-led social impact ventures across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. This initiative brings together philanthropic and catalytic capital to help scale solutions in health, food security, climate resilience, and economic empowerment. We’re applying innovative financing approaches, from fair impact loans and convertible loans to equity partnerships — tailored to meet each enterprise’s growth needs. Moreover, our 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘭 ensures that every contribution continues to create impact again and again: as funds are repaid, they are reinvested into new woman-led ventures! We’re proud to introduce the first seven inspiring social entrepreneurs joining this journey: 🌟 myMedicines - Abimbola Adebakin M.CIoD 🌟 Hear Me - Athalia Mutiara Laksmi 🌟 Kaaro Health - Angella Kyomugisha 🌟 TxC iMPACT - Johanna Cordovez Amador 🌟 Happy Ground - 🌻Moh Suthasiny Sudprasert & Pearl Pattamaphon Dumnui  🌟 Aloi - Tiffany Tong 🌟 Uganics Repellents - Joan Rukundo Nalubega 🌍 To philanthropists and impact investors: if you’d like to co-fund or partner with us to accelerate gender-smart impact, we’d love to connect. Find out more: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/ggbttxfS 🔗 https://lnkd.in/g5NunJVt #ImpactInvesting #WomenEntrepreneurs #WeShareForward #GenderLensInvesting #SocialImpact #InclusiveGrowth Eleni Theodorou Admiraal Edward de Jager Stefan Wilhelm Peng Zhong Edith Aldewereld Mariano Larena

It was great discussing venture philanthropy and social entrepreneurship at #HIIC25. Our session was vibrant, challenging and productive in policy implications. Key takeaways: 1 Impact measurement matters, even when measurement is inevitably diverse and incomplete. 2 Venture philanthropy in Greece is a terrain conducive to both financial and social innovation. 3 Social entrepreneurship can deliver added social value if properly positioned at the receiving side of impact capital flows. George BehrakisNicholas YatromanolakisPaula SchwarzMichael PrintzosValia FragkouKostis A. Tselenis #HIIC25