Working towards a more sustainable and inclusive society

There are still far too many people sitting on the sidelines of society in the Netherlands. People who want to work, but have trouble finding jobs. Or people with looming or problematic debts. They lack the opportunities to truly participate in society. We believe that these problems can’t be solved by continuing to do what we’ve been doing, with an economy that only focuses on economic profits. Societal gains are at least as important.

€ 4.7 million

provided in impact loans for a more sustainable and inclusive society in the Netherlands.

170

organizations provide impact in the Netherlands and make a difference for thousands of people .

These are the challenges we address

In the Netherlands, not everyone has the same opportunities. The coronavirus pandemic only widened the inequality gap, and made it more visible. Despite a growing demand for personnel, almost a million people cannot find suitable employment. They want to work, but they don’t have the ‘right’ education, qualifications or contacts. Or they face obstacles because of a mental or physical disability. Around 20% of the people in the Netherlands have money problems. For example, due to unemployment, the loss of a partner or a lack of financial knowledge. Many of them don’t know where to turn for help. And they are often ashamed of the problem, which makes them wait too long to solve their money issues. For them it is difficult to participate in society.

How we contributed to positive change

It should be possible for everyone to participate in the Netherlands. Fortunately, there are more and more innovative, entrepreneurial pioneers who are committed to this. Think of social entrepreneurs who help people participate in society through (paid) employment, and social fintechs that build solutions to prevent accumulating debts. We support these entrepreneurs in an early phase. We offer them financial support, bring them into contact with each other and others, and give them access to knowledge. That allows the organizations to grow and give even more people a place in society.

With this, we made an impact

45 organizations

we provided financing for the first time. This brings the total to 170.

4 study programs

we have specifically provided for additional knowledge and to empower entrepreneurs.

25+ partnerships

provided more connection between innovative entrepreneurs, other funders and experts.

These front runners made themselves stronger

In 2021, we strengthened a record number of enterprises. We supported existing and new partners with financial resources, our knowledge and our network. This enabled them to realize their plans and together we made a positive contribution to society.

Toos from Dignita

now runs three locations thanks to our loan, and through a training course she learned how to make her social enterprise profitable for a greater social impact.

Melle from The Good Roll

is changing the world with toilet paper. He can continue to grow thanks to our network and his story was spread extra widely during a campaign with Rabobank.

Alan and Loes from Money Start

can expand their concept in the Netherlands because we link them to other initiatives.

Ellen and Monique from ONS Label Breda

gained more insight into dealing with the dilemmas they face by participating in the Dilemma Course.

Groepsfoto van medewekers van Milieauwerk

David from Milieuwerk

was able to scale up his social enterprise with the help of our knowledge and network.

Jeffrey from FinBuddy

built his online tool thanks to our financial contribution.

For these people, we made a difference

170 entrepreneurs

saw their organization grow, providing more opportunities for people in the Netherlands.

5,000+ people

found, for example, an apprenticeship or paid job at a social enterprise supported by Rabo Foundation.

450,000+ people

were able to take a step toward greater financial empowerment through the solution of one of our partners and through collaboration with the Nederlandse Schuldhulproute.

This is how we work together to create an inclusive society

Together, the entrepreneurs provided more jobs and more opportunities for financial empowerment. This gave thousands of people in the Netherlands opportunities to participate in society and made the Netherlands a lot more inclusive in 2021.

Pierre and Wout are 2 of the 40 employees at Rabauw Brewery who are now using all their knowledge and skills.

Anette's daughters are 2 of 390,000 children who can participate thanks to Sam&.

Fadi is 1 of the 300 people who had the opportunity to redeploy his talents at Makers Unite in Amsterdam.

The highlights of 2021

Our lessons learned in 2021, and insights for the future

We aim to increase our impact by learning from our results. These were the important lessons learned in 2021, and how they will determine our strategy in the future.

In the past year, the corona crisis again created challenges. A number of social enterprises were forced to close their doors because they used a catering concept. Fortunately, many businesses found creative ways to stay open as much as possible. We helped social entrepreneurs with the online Growth Tribe training course. This taught them to grow faster (online) with fewer resources, to accelerate their impact and to become self-sufficient.

The demand for solutions to the growing money problems also increased. Because many people suddenly had much less income. Many initiatives had to switch to a previously unknown digital effort. We helped them where possible by deploying our network.

The pandemic also demanded flexibility from us as impact funders. For example, many of our partners were not eligible for government support because they had not been around very long as a startup and therefore could not present historical turnover figures. We offered extra support to all our entrepreneurs, for example by granting a six-month deferral of repayment and interest. And we provided extra money to, for example, bridge the various lockdowns, survive the corona crisis and maintain their impact.

The Dutch economy faces some major challenges in the areas of sustainability and inclusion. Companies increasingly find it important to include social and ecological value in their business objectives and strategy, in addition to the financial objectives. Not just because it benefits society, but because regulations and consumer preferences require it. Social entrepreneurs show that it’s possible to take that step. That financial profits can go together with social and ecological impact.

Within educational courses more attention is being paid to social entrepreneurship. More and more this is part of the curriculum. And we help out by providing guest lectures. Also, by actively participating in the City Deal Impact Entrepreneurship, we highlight the importance of social entrepreneurship among local governments, financiers and businesses, and we facilitate growth in the number of social enterprises in the Netherlands.

Making an impact on people and organizations is extremely valuable. But today’s challenges demand more than just impact: we also need to transition to an economy that revolves around more than just economic growth. In a ‘meaning economy’, the well-being of people and the environment is at least as important as economic growth. Many of our social entrepreneurs already know that, and they’re working on ways to put it into practice. They use circular production methods to contribute to the energy and climate transition, like Makers Unite. Or they supply their products via short chains, like Yespers.

That’s why we don’t just look at an enterprise’s social impact, but also its ecological and economic impact. We brainstorm together with entrepreneurs to help find innovative solutions and serve as a pioneer in these transitions. Because only the right balance of economic, social and ecological impact will lead to a more sustainable and inclusive society.