FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship Commits to Catalyzing $200 Million for Social Entrepreneurs to End Global Poverty
NEW YORK – September 24, 2024 – Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship announces its new Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Commitment to Action, pledging to raise and deploy $20 million by 2030 to support social entrepreneurs worldwide. Unveiled on stage at the CGI 2024 Annual Meeting, this initiative aims to catalyze an additional $200 million in funding for social enterprises addressing poverty and climate resilience.
“Social enterprises are key to solving the most urgent global challenges by prioritizing people and the planet over profit,” said Brigit Helms, Executive Director of Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship. “This commitment will help scale mission-driven organizations during their most critical early growth stages, enabling them to make lasting, transformative change.”
According to the World Economic Forum, social enterprises—businesses that reinvest revenue into their social or environmental missions—represent approximately 3% of businesses globally, generating over $2 trillion in annual revenue and creating more than 200 million jobs. Yet, despite their impressive contributions, a $1.1 trillion funding gap limits their potential, and only 5% survive beyond a decade. Women-led ventures are particularly underfunded, receiving just 2% of available capital compared to their male-led counterparts.
To bridge these funding gaps, Miller Center launched Miller Center Capital, its innovative impact investing arm to finance graduates of its flagship accelerator. As a first-mover, Miller Center Capital invests in these social enterprises often deemed high-risk by the market, crowding in additional capital and de-risking future investments to expand the pool of investable ventures. So far, every dollar invested has unlocked 10 dollars of additional funding from other impact investors.
The investment fund forms an integral part of Miller Center’s continuum of support for social enterprises, from the accelerator program to ongoing programmatic offerings and financial leverage.
With this CGI Commitment, Miller Center publicly commits to our bold ambition to directly invest and mobilize catalytic capital, prioritizing women- and locally-led social enterprises, to build a more equitable and sustainable future.
Read the full Miller Center Commitment to Action on the Clinton Global Initiative website.
About the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI)
Founded by President Bill Clinton in 2005, the Clinton Global Initiative is a community of doers representing a broad cross section of society and dedicated to the idea that we can accomplish more together than we can apart. Through CGI’s unique model, more than 10,000 organizations have launched more than 4,000 Commitments to Action — new, specific, and measurable projects and programs — that are making a difference in the lives of more than 500 million people in 180 countries.
About Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship
For over 25 years, Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship has been a leader in the global social enterprise movement. With an emphasis on climate resilience and women’s economic power, we accelerate social entrepreneurship to end poverty and protect the planet, guided by the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Located at Santa Clara University, we fuse the entrepreneurial spirit of Silicon Valley with the university’s heritage of social justice, community engagement, and global impact. Miller Center has served close to 1,500 social entrepreneurs based in over 100 countries that are impacting hundreds of millions of lives.
Media Contact:
Karen Carter
Director of Marketing Communications
Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship
kcarter1@scu.edu
Investment Contact:
Paul Belknap
Director of Impact Investing
Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship
pbelknap@scu.edu
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