For startups, collaboration can be key to raising capital, gaining valuable expertise, and attracting new customers — and in a volatile economic climate, collaboration is more valuable than ever.
But knowing how to collaborate and with whom to take the plunge is a big decision, especially for an impact startup with lofty goals that could make a huge positive difference for millions of people around the world.
“Collaboration plays a pivotal role in the success of impact startups,” Anthony Villapin, worldwide lead for entrepreneurship for positive impact at Microsoft, tells Sifted. “These startups create amazing social innovations that are worthy of attention. By operating within an ecosystem of other actors, they gain international exposure and connect with their peers. These connections allow them to gather valuable feedback, ideas, and opportunities for growth.”
Microsoft’s Entrepreneurship for Positive Impact initiative is a program that brings together more than 1,800 entrepreneurs from 94 countries to foster impactful startups. By supporting these startups, Microsoft positions them as long-term partners and unlocks future business opportunities.
And it’s a win-win: “Connecting impactful startups with existing Microsoft customers will help these large enterprises with their digital transformation and ESG strategies,” says Virapin.
We explain why impact startups need to collaborate more and what they can gain from partnerships.
Choose your collaborators
Emily Will is EY Global Impact Entrepreneurship Leader. EY (one of the “Big 4” accounting firms) and Microsoft aim to build an inclusive digital economy by providing training and skills development opportunities to help millions of people enter or re-enter the workforce or start new businesses by 2025. Will says that working with impact startups requires all partners to have the same values.
“It’s important to find corporate partners that not only offer resources and expanded capabilities, but also share our values and are interested in making an impact on society,” she says. “Startups can conduct due diligence on potential partners’ track records of impact and have transparent conversations about shared goals.”
Due diligence is also highlighted as a critical step in the selection process by Johan Attby, general partner at Norrsken Accelerator, another Microsoft partner. Attby says the organization you collaborate with should have relevant expertise. If a person or company hasn’t personally built something similar or solved the problem you’re facing, they’re not the right fit.
Collaboration should aim to remove obstacles such as financial needs, regulatory constraints and difficult markets. entry.
“Growing a company from zero to €1 million in revenue is very different to growing it from €10 million to €100 million,” Atbee told Sifted. “If an advisor doesn’t have experience working at that scale, they’re likely not the right fit.”
But some knowledge needs to be fresh, he added.
“If their experience is from 10 years ago, it may no longer be relevant. For example, if you’re starting a B2C company or talking about go-to-market strategies, the landscape is very different than it was 10 years ago,” he says.
Attby also points out the importance of an unbiased assessment of the areas in which founding teams need support before entering into collaboration discussions.
“Evaluate your strengths and weaknesses and ask yourself where you have weaknesses and is this an area where you should hire,” he points out. “Is this an area where you should collaborate with someone or bring in an advisor or mentor? Do your homework first.”
Some collaborators are able to provide support in multiple areas: for example, Microsoft, through its initiatives, offers technical support, mentoring and coaching, policy environment support, community connections, and go-to-market assistance.
“Collaborations should aim to remove obstacles such as capital needs, regulatory constraints and difficult market entry,” Villapin said, “plus they should create new development opportunities, such as international expansion, leveraging AI and hyperscale technologies and recruiting specific talent profiles.”
Mutual Benefit
Through EY Ripples, EY’s global corporate responsibility program, the company brings together skills and knowledge to help impact entrepreneurs around the world achieve greater scale and impact.
Partnering with corporations can open doors to venture capital, impact funds, critical resources and technology. function.
For example, in East Africa, Ziv is setting up a network of locally owned franchised businesses to equip and capitalize on water treatment systems and other technologies to purify locally produced water so it can be sold to communities at a more affordable price.
As Jibu looked to expand rapidly, the EY team helped the company put its financial and operational controls into a playbook that all stakeholders in the business could use. Today, Jibu has 180 franchises in eight countries, delivering approximately 591 million liters of safe water to communities.
“Working with corporations opens the door to venture capital, impact funds, critical resources and technical capabilities,” says Will. “Impact startups have access to new markets and global connections, helping them take their mission to the world stage.”
Will says these relationships are mutually symbiotic, enabling innovation and access to breakthrough market-driven solutions that address social and environmental challenges, enhancing a company’s brand value and helping it achieve its ESG goals.
“The right thing” for business and society
This is a perspective shared by Unilever, which launched the impact accelerator TRANSFORM in 2015 to bring together businesses, donors, investors and academics to support visionary impact companies in Africa, Asia and beyond.
The Accelerator is a joint initiative between Unilever, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and EY.
“TRANSFORM provides grants and business support to impact entrepreneurs, helping them test and scale their solutions,” Grace ter Haar, sustainability manager at Unilever, told Sifted.
“TRANSFORM is all about collaboration and bringing together organisations to scale impactful startups with solutions the world needs. That way we can connect organisations like Unilever, FCDO and EY with innovators on the ground who have the agility, local market knowledge and innovation to create something incredibly powerful together.”
Ter Haar says that for companies to work with impact startups is not only the right thing to do, but it’s crucial to building a thriving environment for businesses and communities.
TRANSFORM is working with Hasiru Dala, a social justice enterprise based in Bangalore, India, which is committed to enabling better lives for the informal waste collection sector by providing clean, responsibly sourced waste for a growing circular economy.
Like many cities in India, Bangalore has a large informal workforce that plays a key role in collecting plastic waste (mainly PET bottles) and selling it to recycling plants. Working with TRANSFORM, Hasiru Dala was able to increase its collection and sorting capacity, as well as upskill many informal waste collectors, who are primarily women.
Additionally, the collaboration has enabled Hasiru DalaI to become a supplier of recycled plastic for Unilever’s packaging of Sunsilk hair care products.
“Hasil Dara has gone from serving three apartment buildings to now serving over 430 clients, improving the lives of informal waste collection workers through stable work, fair wages and support for their families,” Ter Haar said.
Get noticed
At this year’s ChangeNOW event, Microsoft hosted the first-ever EfPI Cup, bringing together over 100 investors, businesses and leading social innovators from around the world, allowing EfPI Cup finalists Earth Plus, Witty Works, MeVitae, FluxGen and Sopht to pitch their solutions to an audience that could help them in their mission to make a positive impact.
Much of the change we want to see cannot be achieved by any single organization, which is why collaboration is so important. play.
“Participating in incubation and acceleration programs fosters collaboration and gives startups the opportunity to increase their impact and scalability at a faster pace,” Villapin said. “We believe this ecosystem approach is beneficial for everyone and multiplies the chances of positive outcomes.”
Daniel Nowak is head of the Schwab Foundation’s Global Alliance for Social Entrepreneurship at the World Economic Forum, where he works with partners including Microsoft, Unilever and EY to bring together players from different sectors and disciplines to advance an economy that works for people and the planet.
“Much of the change we want to see can’t come from any single organization,” Nowak says, “so collaboration is key.”
Greyston Bakery is a Schwab Foundation award winner and pioneered open employment principles, meaning anyone looking for work can come and hire on a first-come, first-served basis. There are no resumes or background checks, making the hiring process bias-free.
The company partners with large corporations like IKEA, which have adopted open employment principles to fill thousands of jobs around the world.
“The AI for Social Innovation initiative brings together social innovators, technology leaders, businesses and public sector stakeholders,” Nowack said. “The project was inspired by more than 30 leading innovators, co-launched by Microsoft and supported by EY. It highlights how collaboration can drive successful and impactful AI adoption, creating dialogue between innovators and technology leaders to address challenges like bias and accessibility.”
Microsoft wants to encourage technology leaders and impactful startups to join the AI for Social Innovation initiative.
Disclaimer: This publication contains information in summary form and is intended for general guidance only. It is not a substitute for detailed research and professional judgement. No member firm of the EY global organization shall be liable for loss to anyone who places reliance on this article.
