Entrepreneurship Impact Fund (Strand 1)
The Entrepreneurship Impact Fund – Strand 1 is a €3,000,000 investment designed to help mid-stage and mature social innovations across Ireland scale their impact and achieve their next stage of growth. Supported by a private donor, Strand 1 focuses on two key investment areas: Growth and Scale Up.
This fund addresses the common challenges faced by social innovations, such as scaling operations and delivering long-term, sustainable social impact. Without adequate, sustained funding, organisations struggle to expand in response to both current and future needs. A lack of capacity-building support further limits their ability to reach their full potential.
The Entrepreneurship Impact Fund provides a unique opportunity for organisations with an entrepreneurial approach to social change to deliver enduring, impactful solutions across communities in Ireland, both over the next three years and into the future.
Awardees
ACT (Accelerating Change Together) (Scale Up)
ACT (Accelerating Change Together) is a social enterprise of architects, urbanists and policy specialists here to help accelerate Ireland’s Green Transition. Their vision is an Ireland that is carbon negative, ecologically thriving and social inclusive. ACT do this by providing innovative, practical and scalable Green Transition Design for the public, private and third sector.
“Being an awardee of the Entrepreneurship Impact Fund 2023-2026 is massive for ACT as it has enabled us to strategically scale out our Green Transition Design Services and increase our social enterprise’s financial stability through having a dedicated support on tendering for new opportunities. Both points ultimately support ACT in delivering on our social mission of accelerating Ireland’s Green Transition.”
– James McConville, Director, ACT
Bike Hub (Scale Up)
The Bike Hub is a social enterprise that runs community bicycle workshops, bicycle maintenance and safe cycling training, accessible bicycle fleets, and other community and social impact projects in the Greater Dublin area. The E-Bike Lab & Training Centre project will create space to further develop circular economy and training opportunities that reduce waste, increase skills, and help marginalised and under-served communities.
“The Rethink Ireland Scale Up Fund will help us make the E-Bike Lab & Training Centre a reality, breaking down the current barriers surrounding e-bike technology, and bicycle maintenance skills and knowledge”
-Stephen McManus, CEO
Habitat ReStore (Growth)
Habitat for Humanity Ireland’s vision is a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Working in Ireland since 1993; it’s mission has called more than 40,000 volunteers to action in tackling housing poverty locally and globally. Habitat ReStore, its social enterprise directly tackles poverty by helping families access donated DIY and home improvement materials at low cost; provides training and support for vulnerable people and diverts tons of reusable material from landfill.
“Our impact is measurable and the model is sustainable; we are excited about the opportunity to work with Rethink, to build partnerships and capacity as we scale ReStore to 3 new communities in the next 3 years.“
-Jenny Williams, CEO
No Barriers (Scale Up)
No Barriers Foundation assists those with varying levels of disability who find it difficult to find appropriate post-care support after being discharged from the HSE, their lack of aftercare support resulting in increased social marginalisation as well as physical and mental comorbidities increasing readmission rates. The No Barriers Foundation addresses this lack of accessible and affordable ongoing rehabilitation and health support for their target group, by providing ongoing specialist support services in an affordable manner in a socially inclusive gym environment.
“We are deeply grateful to Rethink Ireland for selecting us as an awardee of their Scale-Up Fund. This generous three-year support will empower our Foundation to expand our initiatives significantly, enabling us to reach more communities and amplify our impact”
-Johnny Loughrey, Founder and CEO
Parents Plus (Growth)
Parents Plus is on a mission to improve outcomes for children, young people and parents, and to strengthen families and communities. We do this by building the capacity of established services to deliver and evaluate our evidence-based parenting and mental health programmes. Our vision is that all parents have access to proven parenting programmes and supports in their local communities, at their point of need, preventing difficulties from arising. Parents Plus has empowered over 1,000 organisations to improve outcomes for over 100,000 families.
“By working in partnership with Rethink Ireland over the next three years, and investing in the infrastructure Parents Plus needs to scale deeply, together we will create lasting, positive outcomes for thousands more families and communities, and the services set up to service them.”
-Cherie Tyner, CEO
Property Marking (Scale Up)
Property Marking Ireland (PMI) service are committed to reducing crime in Ireland through the marking of valuables with the owner’s Eircode in a way that deters theft and helps recover and reunite a stolen valuable with its owner. It does this to fulfil its mission of reducing crime and the fear of crime and improving quality of life for all, but particularly for those in rural Ireland where this is a very real concern and for older people. PMI works closely with community development groups, Local Authorities and An Garda Siochana, the Eircode information links to the Garda Pulse system, aiding reunification
“Every social enterprise needs three things during its start-up and developmental phases – technical support to address the enterprise’s business needs in particular; financial support to help it expand and grow in a risk-managed way; and endorsement from respected organisations to confirm that its mission and vision are valid and worthy. The Re-think Ireland Entrepreneurship Impact Scale Up Fund addresses all these needs in one integrated package”
-James O’Neill, CEO
Refill Ireland (Scale Up)
Refill Ireland started in 2017 with a TAP MAP to match people with locations around the country for free drinking water refills to reusable bottles or cups carriers. Refill has grown to build a zero-waste drinking water events service preventing a need for bulk buys of single use plastic water bottles by event organisers, and replacing the bottles with a circular economy designed system that generates no waste. This allows the event industry to grow but breaks the link with a corresponding growth in waste generation
“The fund will allow us to advertise and grow both our innovative TAP MAP and zero waste drinking water event service with new hires and introduce new services that will aid both revenue growth and the building of a strong drinking water public refill infrastructure and culture in Ireland.’
-Barry O’Connor, Director
Great Care Co-Op (Scale Up)
The Great Care Co-op is Ireland’s first worker cooperative in home care where employees are co-owners of the business. It is a radically new model of care for Ireland, grounded in human rights and equality. All profit is reinvested into achieving quality care for people, and improving wages and working conditions for carers. Our mission is great care with great jobs. This is a systemic change approach to build a fair and sustainable model of home care for all of our futures.
“Backing of Rethink Ireland will help us to employ and train more carers in this model, who will then become co- owners of the co-op and be empowered through shared business ownership.”
-Aoife Smith, CEO
