My IC Journey as a Strategic Partner
What you can get out of this acceleration program
I started my journey with Impact Collective (IC) by working together and supporting IC as a strategic partner. I have introduced expert judges and encouraged start-ups across the region to join the community and acceleration Programme. As part of our work with Circles of Angels (COA) being a judge and expert, COA leverages blockchain technology to trace and track impact for social enterprises, founders and organizations.
I was super excited & humbled to be one of the expert judges as well as regional anchor/mentor for some of the promising high growth/ impact startups who are interested in growing the business and scaling in Asia to be part of the unique equity-free acceleration program. If selected, the startup will be able to access IC’s USD $50k and up in investments.
The Communities and networking for IC were great for impact makers, experts & community voters, impact startups & ecosystem players across various regions taking part in discussions together with policymakers. We have shared insights and challenges faced across the region and discussed what’s the best practice model available.
For startups, we will be doing the following: (Bi-weekly call)
1. Updates from the start-up team, current business model & structure, go through the presentation deck, if they are ready to pitch, what do we need to do to improve the deck
2. Sustainability of the business — revise on the business model, if pivoting is required etc, what’s the cost and revenue model, will it scale, etc
3. What is the positive impact the startup could bring to society, and how do we measure, quantify and track it via impact metrics KPI on UN SDGs sustainability goals
4. Effective mentoring & coaching — what is the best advice available by encouraging everyone to be as open and honest as possible
5. What’s the top three advice to startups on goal setting? Realistic timeline and KPIs, how do we track the progress with objectives (no matter how busy you are !)
6. The updates & what are the challenges & issues faced by startups — derive an action plan to address it
7. Funding updates and challenges face to date
8. Specific support required
Brainstorming sessions with other regional anchors, experts, and the IC community members on a weekly basis to track the progress of the startups' journey.
One of the social enterprise companies I introduced and mentored 2 years ago @Sehat Kehani (medical tech sector) from Pakistan
The company was successfully funded by IC on the acceleration program. I met two of the founders in Shenzhen, China. Brilliant founders with great experiences combined. Love the business idea and scalable business model. The company democratizes access to quality and affordable health care by creating jobs for home-based female Doctors (In general the females are expected to stay at home only). The positive impact is created by saving lives, promoting health awareness activities & campaigns. In return, it benefited the communities by and large.
In summary, it has been a fun, fruitful, and fulfilling journey during the lockdown. I enjoyed the discussions, selection process, Pitch clinics & final voting, etc. I would strongly recommend and encourage everyone to join the community — as an impact maker, expert, or startup!
To find out more information and apply for the program visit www.impactcollective.earth.
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Writer: Patricia Lim, Impact Investor & Mentor
