ImpactU is a collective of universities working collaboratively to support and raise awareness of mission-driven businesses emerging from our ecosystems. ImpactU provides alternative finance on commercial terms to scale research-led ventures affiliated to English Universities with a social or environmental mission.We aim to invest over £1m into 26 social ventures by the end of 2025. As of July 2025, we have completed nine investments (and made eight more investment offers).
Why Apply for the ImpactU Awards?
Founders of social ventures often struggle to secure their first investment because of a misconception that these businesses will not be profitable or will not return capital to investors.
There are over 100,000 social enterprises in the UK, generating £60bn for the UK economy and creating 2 million jobs to date. And this is only a subset of the social venture ecosystem!
Social Enterprise UK’s latest report shows that 65% of social enterprises anticipate turnover growth this year and 70% made a profit or broke even in the last year.
ImpactU provides investment of up to £40k to pre-investment ventures to enable their proof-of-concept and help them secure further funding. ImpactU provides capital on commercial terms to demonstrate that these types of investments are commercially viable.
Applications Close: Monday 27th Oct
Pitch Training Group Session: Monday 10th Nov
Cash Flow Training: Monday 17th Nov
Award Panel: Thursday 4th and 11th Dec
| Application Deadline |
27/10/2025 |
| Application required |
Apply Here |
