How do you show your social impact as an entrepreneur?

It is an honor to share with you my role as President of the No Hunger Food Bank. Our organization is committed to ending hunger among vulnerable populations, including malnourished children, pregnant women, nursing mothers, less privileged individuals, and internally displaced persons (IDPs). Our efforts have yielded remarkable results, including saving over 3.5 million kilograms of food from going to waste in our first phase of strategic planning from 2019 to 2024. With the help of our dedicated staff and volunteers, we provided 0.5 million food servings to our beneficiaries. As we move forward into the second phase of our 2024-2028 Strategic Plan, we aim to increase the number of rescued foods and food servings by tenfold.

People connect with stories. Your impact goals need a story that resonates with your audience. This narrative should not only communicate what you aim to achieve but also why it matters.

As an African mining and digital innovation entrepreneur, my social impact is evident through investor partnerships. Unlike traditional gold buyers, I prioritize sustainable development. The gold industry is filled with local buyers focused on export, ignoring mining investment. With 12+ years in the field, I stress responsible mining over mere gold purchase. My cooperative enhances artisanal miners' conditions, often overlooked by traditional buyers. By investing in modern tech, quality equipment, and training, I drive sustainable gold production. Join me in revolutionizing artisanal mining for attractive returns. I share insights on mining, gold, and innovation on social media, aiming for a lasting social imprint.

As a nanomedicine scientist with an entrepreneurial mindset, my focus is on translating research into tangible solutions that benefit society. While I haven't started a business yet, I aspire to leverage my expertise to drive innovation and improve cancer diagnosis, treatment, and overall patient care. My ultimate goal is to make a meaningful impact by bridging the gap between scientific discovery and practical application, ultimately improving outcomes for patients and communities affected by cancer.

It's hard enough being an entrepreneur especially one in the social impact sector. now a massive social media conglomerate like linkedin is asking more from their users to share their expertise but only earn a badge. What about offering grants and other forms of financial support for these causes.

Not only is it important to share your impact goals, it’s essential to report on progress. For example, ShiftCo.org, our Public Benefit Corporation has a stated purpose to “support the development of conscious entrepreneurs building socially and environmentally friendly businesses.” So our impact goal is clear. We want to help conscious entrepreneurs build thriving businesses. Great! But that’s not the real story. How we are doing on that goal is what matters. It makes the stated impact goal relevant. We created a metric called Member Success Ratio to measure our impact. And we report on that quarterly. 84.5% of the Members using ShiftCo’s platform have doubled their revenue. Now that’s impact.

entrepreneur, showcasing social impact involves transparently demonstrating how your business positively affects society. Start by defining clear social goals aligned with your business mission. Implement and measure initiatives that address specific issues, like sustainability, community development, or education. Document and share progress through regular reports, case studies, and metrics. Engage in partnerships with NGOs or social enterprises to amplify impact. Utilize social media and marketing campaigns to highlight your contributions. Authenticity is key – genuinely embody social responsibility, inspiring trust and attracting socially conscious customers, investors, and collaborators.

Use sentiment analysis. Sounds fancy right? Beyond traditional data collection methods,use tools to gauge the emotional impact of your work. By looking at social media comments, customer reviews, and feedback forms, you can uncover valuable sentiment trends!

What else? Consider creating reports, infographics, or presentations that showcase the data you've collected and the outcomes achieved. Visual representations can make it easier for stakeholders to grasp the significance of your social impact. Additionally, consider using storytelling techniques to highlight individual success stories or real-world examples that demonstrate the positive changes your initiatives have brought about. By effectively presenting your data and stories, you can enhance the visibility and credibility of your social impact efforts.

Communication is everything in an interconnected world, for sure. But nothing is worse than « frog inflation ». The truth, nothing but the truth about what your achievements really are. That is paramount.

Engage in ongoing dialogue with your audience! Don't just report, talk to them. Foster a sense of community by actively seeking feedback and ideas from your stakeholders.

For the past fifteen months, the duo crude oil subsidy removal and the Russian-Ukraine conflict-driven rising food and energy prices have resulted in about a 65% increase in the number of internally displaced and vulnerable people No Hunger Food Bank serves. To cushion the Domino effect of these soaring food and fuel prices, No Hunger Food Bank has been deploying domestically produced and biofortified foods, like cassava and maize, while re-bundling food items to meet the yawing dietary needs gaps among internally displaced children, without compromising the nutritional contents of these food items.

I agree totally. We created a metric called Member Success Ratio to measure if our conscious entrepreneur (members on our platform) are successful growing their business. We report on that quarterly. The latest stats are: 84.5% of the Members using ShiftCo’s platform have doubled their revenue since joining. Reporting on impact goal progress keeps the organization focused.

We make every decision in alignment with our impact goals. Period. Because we measure impact with a clear metric, we know if we are, or are not, making progress towards increasing our impact. Although not easy, it is paramount to building a successful organization.

Understanding and measuring a business anti-fragility index is one of the practical approaches to knowing, improving, and enhancing a business' socioeconomic impact, especially from an Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standpoint. As Nassim Nicholas Taleb suggests, measuring a business's anti-fragility capacity is feasible by assessing its ability to benefit from disorder and strengthen after a socio-economic shock. Remember, it's important to continuously identify businesses' strengths for ESG improvement towards increasing their anti-fragility capacity to overcome any emerging adversities as businesses metamorphoses.

In an interconnected world, no venture operates in isolation. The ripple effects of our actions echo throughout communities, and stakeholders deserve to be part of that journey. Collaboration fosters credibility. Stakeholder engagement turns a monolog into a dialog, ensuring that the social impact narrative is not just told but co-authored. Basically, to truly measure and communicate social impact, entrepreneurs should go beyond individualistic endeavors and embrace the collective wisdom and strength of collaboration. The success comes much faster that way.

As a scientist, I prioritize connecting with like-minded individuals to drive healthcare innovation. Through platforms like LinkedIn and participation in workshops, conferences, and networking events, I collaborate with fellow entrepreneurs, leaders, and experts to pioneer new solutions. Leveraging tools such as Teams and Zoom, I maintain constant communication with peers and mentors, guaranteeing our collective efforts make a tangible difference for patients and society.

I’ve seen entrepreneurs running their business in one dimension and then talking about their family or something that they get more open-hearted within another. Acknowledging the things they care about and connecting them to their business can be impactful. Care about kids? Are you ensuring the employees in your company are in a good mental state to be the best parents they can be? Care about a cause? Are you educating your workforce and stakeholders on how we can as a community all pitch in time for that cause? Care about your community’s health? Are you acting on good health habits within the company and for your customers? Bringing impact to your organization doesn’t require a big change or shift, but it requires intention.

For entrepreneurs, a clear vision is key to keeping teams motivated. By sharing this vision, leaders inspire everyone to work towards a common goal, fostering resilience, innovation, and social impact. This shared purpose fuels motivation and ensures alignment, even in challenging times.

Simply ask for user feedback. While those ok with the product usually don’t say much, those passionate about the product will share their opinion. By asking for feedback, make it very simple for them to give it! You’ve worked hard in designing the product, work hard in getting feedback to hear what people think about your product and listen more earnestly about suggestions or challenges they have about your product. Dare to be great! Good luck!!

Within us flows a desire to make a difference in the world not merely for ourselves, but also in our world for others. What looks like help to someone in need within our sphere of influence and how can we take the next right step for their benefit? Our most powerful lever is unselfish desire for their well being, which becomes infectious to our entire team so that our impact is one of a movement not merely an initiative.

As an entrepreneur, showcasing your social impact involves demonstrating how your products or services contribute meaningfully to societal betterment. Effectively measuring and conveying this impact to customers, investors, partners, and stakeholders necessitates a comprehensive approach. Utilize key performance indicators aligned with your mission, quantifying outcomes such as environmental sustainability, community upliftment, or ethical practices. Leverage transparent reporting, engaging narratives, and tangible examples to create a compelling narrative that authentically communicates your commitment to positive change, resonating with your diverse audience and fostering deeper connections based on shared values.