In October of 2017, CRM global leader Salesforce via its corporate investment arm Salesforce Ventures has released an impact investment fund worth $50 million. The goal of this enterprise is to accelerate growth in start-up companies.
Key Areas
The impact fund will be devoted to the following key areas:
- Social Sector: through the use of related technology, the fund will impact NGOs and non-profits. Salesforce technology that focuses on transparency and efficiency will be at the heart of the drive.
- Sustainability: The fund will be used to help drive better performance in the supply chain. On top of that it will also be dedicated to efforts to create more access to clean energy.
- Equality: The fund will also help businesses that promote equal opportunity. This includes those that support underrepresented groups, women empowerment, and others.
- Workforce Development: Companies that provide equal access to education will also be impacted by this fund. It will be used to focus on programs that the future workforce for the coming jobs of the future.
Empowering Next Generation Enterprise Technology
With the launch of this impact fund, according to their EVP of Corporate Relations, Suzanne DiBianca, it allows the company to support startups that focus on positive social change. This fund will be used to support businesses that also drive on environmental and social change. Some of the recipients of this fund include ViridisLearning, Angaza, Hustle, and Ellevest.
Ellevest is the first startup to benefit from this impact fund. They are in the business of providing equal opportunities by balancing the gender investment gap.
ViridisLearning uses SaaS to align learning and career pathways with workforce needs of the 21st century. Angaza provides an SaaS platform that allows distributors and manufacturers to make affordable clean energy products.
Hustle on the other hand makes use of technology to enable advocacy groups, educational institutions, and non-profits connect and communicate with their constituents.