LSE: 100x Impact Accelerator
Overview
Overview
100x’s goal is to identify the combinations of expertise, mentoring, and capital that enable impact-driven organisations to think bigger and achieve more. It emulates the successful business accelerator model from the private sector and aims to show how impact-driven organisations can break the cycle of grant-seeking and weak governance. These factors often act together to limit organisations’ growth and impact potential.
What's on offer
Each social enterprise selected for 100x Impact Accelerator will receive a £150,000 grant and access to the School’s world class expertise.
This is in addition to a 12-week programme of bespoke support from experts and social unicorn founders – intended to help leaders determine how best to maximise their impact.
The programme includes two weeks of in-person sessions at LSE, virtual meetings with experts, and an annual Summit Day, where all participants will present to philanthropists, investors, governments, and media. All expenses for ventures taking part in 100x will be covered.
100x Impact Accelerator will support two cohorts of ten social enterprises every year, with 70 per cent of these coming from emerging markets. The accelerator is looking for scale-up impact organisations that have a proven model, so it can help deliver their next big leap of growth.
Places will be offered to organisations across eight sectors which closely reflect LSE’s research priorities. These are:
- climate and environment;
- health and social care;
- refugees and cohesion;
- equitable economies;
- happiness and wellbeing;
- democracy;
- education; and
- new frontiers.
Eligibility
If you're a changemaker with a social venture burning with purpose and potential, you're in the right place. They're all about fostering positive global change, and they welcome applicants from various backgrounds and corners of the world. They're looking for ventures with a clear social or environmental mission, a scalable model, and a team ready to change the world.
You MUST fit the following eligibility criteria:
- Impact-first venture: may be structured as a non-profit or a for-profit
- Can be registered and/or operating from anywhere in the world
- Delivering impact within at least one of our eight Impact Areas
- Impact achieved to date is reaching at least 10,000 end-users via either a direct B2C model or an indirect B2B or B2G (government) model
- Operating with a team of four or more full-time paid employees
- Raised at least USD 100,000 in capital from any source
- You are not applying on behalf of a government body, grantmaking foundation, financing intermediary, or similar entities
Selection Criteria
100x is looking for the next generation of social unicorns - organisations affecting positive change on the scale of billions. Their selection process is rooted in a holistic evaluation of both the people and the model. Here are the key criteria they consider:
- Outstanding Leadership
- Addressable Impact
- Established proof of concept
- High velocity of change
- Distinctiveness of Solution
- Cohort Fit
Through these criteria, they aim to select ventures that not only have innovative solutions but also leaders deeply committed to driving positive social and environmental change. They value proximity to communities, inclusive approaches, and the capacity to affect systematic transformation.
They aim to have 70% of our portfolio to come from emerging markets and value applications where founders and/or senior team members be based in the region the organisation operates in
They want to back organisations that are female-led, have considered gender in their product or service designs, and reflect a global market of leaders.
Funding
Their funding is flexible, impact-first, unrestricted, and based on trust. They offer catalytic grants and repayable grants to charities and social enterprises. Upon completion of the 100x accelerator programme, if your charity or social enterprise has achieved extraordinary and outsized impact, you may be eligible for their follow-on funding.