Mydex CIC — A Community Interest Company and Social Enterprise UK member
As we so often reiterate, Mydex is a community interest company working for the individual. Our mission is to empower individuals, to give them personal control over their personal data. But what does this mean in practice? Headlines and mission statements are easier to write than they are to fulfil, so what makes our claim credible? We’ll have a look at exactly what it means to be a Community Interest Company and a member of Social Enterprise UK and Social Enterprise Scotland.
A CIC is not a normal business. In order to be recognised and registered as a CIC, a company must state a specific social goal via a ‘community interest statement’. In addition to this, the company is asset locked: this means it cannot be sold to another entity which is not similarly asset locked. It is also subject to a dividend cap, which dictates that it must reinvest 65% of all its profits back into furthering its community purpose; the other 35% can be distributed to its shareholders. Ultimately, this means that the company cannot use its revenue to maximise profits for shareholders and owners, the majority of the money must go into furthering the business and working towards its social goal. Mydex is a rational investment, but Mydex investors expect a social return first and foremost: the more money we make, the more money goes back into the community mission and purpose. This is a vital element in delivering sustainability and real social impact.
Given our mission, trust is a paramount consideration. Being a CIC reinforces trust both through the required and inherent commitment to our purpose, and through the asset lock. Our long term sustainability is also strengthened through the reinvestment of our profits. Our CIC status plus company wide certification under ISO270001 is a powerful combination, and a differentiator in modern business.
The same goes for membership with Social Enterprise UK and Social Enterprise Scotland: a company must be a registered CIC or other community-oriented organisation, and must be seen as having a specific social goal or purpose. We believe that SEUK and SES’s work is valuable, and we display our membership on all our site pages with pride.
Being a CIC is important for us, our members, the individuals we serve and the organisations who use our Trust Framework and platform, exchanging verified data that underpin safe and secure online transactions and digital identity. Why? Well, in simple terms, we cannot be bought or acquired, and we have a clearly defined mission that we cannot diverge from, meaning there is reliability and consistency of purpose with no risk of compromise or divergence. We can be trusted to deliver our promise. Our reinvestment of 65% of our profits means we will be here for the long term. Our governance model reflects these key differentiators, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
We’re part of the Buy Social revolution, are you?
