Save the Children Global Ventures

Beyond Ventures is an investment and philanthropy advisory serving family offices, endowments, and foundations. Our clients include Pivotal, a group of organizations founded by Melinda French Gates to accelerate social progress for women and young people in the U.S. and around the world.

Newcomers: migrants, refugees, anyone with needs created by the fact of movement. These needs are urgent, specific, and largely underserved. We back founders, including newcomers themselves, building ventures that address these needs, thus lowering the barriers to inclusion and belonging. We do this as an angel co-builder, with patient capital and contextual support.

From early childhood, we each saw how our parents helped out in our local communities, and we were taught that anything is possible. Unfortunately, factors outside of anyone’s control make it hard for some people to reach their potential: things like when they were born, who their parents are, where they grew up, whether they are a boy or a girl. We wake up every day determined to use our resources to create a world where everyone has the opportunity to lead a healthy and productive life. Most importantly, we believe this: All lives have equal value. That’s why we made the decision to donate our wealth from Microsoft to help others. The challenge when we started out was how to do that in a meaningful and high-impact way. We were drawn to things that sprang from our experience, so we began donating PCs to public libraries across the United States to give everyone a chance to use one. As we read and traveled more, we also became curious about inequalities further from home. One day, we read a newspaper article about millions of children in poor countries who die from diseases, such as diarrhea and pneumonia, that were easily treated in wealthier countries. That blew our minds. As new parents it hit us especially hard. If there’s anything worse than the death of a child, we said to each other, then surely, it’s the preventable death of a child. We sent the article to Bill Sr. with a note: Dad, maybe we can do something about this. Those eight words changed the rest of our lives. We started consulting experts, learning from locals in the countries where we wanted to work, and researching disease and poverty more deeply. We tried to figure out how we might use our voices to raise the visibility of global health, and how our resources could start saving and transforming lives. We also expanded our work in the United States from providing access to computers and the Internet to making sure that every student had an equal opportunity to learn, graduate, and succeed. As our commitment to our work grew, we transferred $20 billion of Microsoft stock to our foundation, making it the largest of its kind in the world. We devoted more and more time to its work until we were both doing it full-time. And when our good friend Warren Buffett donated much of his fortune to our foundation, it allowed us to raise our ambitions about taking on the toughest, most important problems. Our foundation has spent $53.8 billion since 2000, and we think that’s helped our partners make a difference. How do we know? We are committed to measuring progress so we can see what’s working and what isn’t. We’d like to leave you with one chart we find most hopeful. It’s this. The number of children who die each year before their fifth birthday. It’s fallen by half since the year 2000. Millions more kids are surviving. That makes us optimistic.

Only together can we create a better world for every living person. Every small action you take can have a profound ripple effect on vulnerable communities that experience the world with a level of hardship that Europeans are lucky enough never to have to go through. In Africa, entrepreneurs face tremendous challenges. Aside from meeting basic needs like food, water, and education, entrepreneurs face an uphill battle to build a tech startup. This is where we can help. Counder has feet on the ground since 2018, arriving with just hand luggage and an idea for a pioneering ecosystem that will propel African entrepreneurs to achieve the level of success that European business leaders have enjoyed. SEON, the startup revolutionising security in Africa, is proof that the bridge between German engineering and local talent, including sales experts that understand the fine details of doing business in Africa is a winning combination. Ubuntu Another key element of that winning combination is the African mindset. Ubuntu is a great expression that explains this mindset. It means I am because we are. In Africa, passion, hope, and togetherness are the traits that will foster the next wave of innovation. We can’t do great things alone. And at the heart of the digital revolution is the mobile-first generation. This tech-savvy, ambitious, youthful workforce is ready to build and they are hungry to solve some of the nation’s biggest problems. There are countless problems that technology can overcome that will improve the quality of life for Africans. African e-entrepreneurs are already transforming the agricultural sector through digitalisation. And mobile and digital technologies have helped boost financial inclusion in Africa significantly in recent years. However, more than half a billion people still live without access to electricity. New power system innovation (technology, policy, business models, etc.) can shape a socially inclusive energy transition for the continent. These are just some of the areas where tech entrepreneurs can have a real impact. Diversity At Counder we are multidisciplinarians focused on where we can have the biggest impact. We are architects, mathematicians, engineers, artisans, line workers and much more. A shared purpose brings us together. Our lofty goal is to build a knowledge bridge that will connect proven entrepreneurs and international investors in Europe with ambitious local talent in Africa. This connection between the raw high potential of Africa and the established know-how of European business leaders will unlock tremendous opportunities of which the continent has never seen before. To solve real problems and sustain life on our planet it is urgent and imperative that we tackle existential threats like climate change, hunger and pandemics as a diverse team. This won’t work if we continue to work in isolation. Now is our chance to generate a momentous impact that will reshape life in Africa as we know it.

Pivotal Ventures (“Pivotal”) is an investment and incubation company created by Melinda French Gates. We partner, invest, and advocate to remove barriers that hold people back, concentrating on areas where progress and opportunity have stalled for millions of Americans. The pursuit of a more equal and equitable United States - not just for some of us, but for everyone - is what drives us forward. It's the why behind every problem we tackle. We approach partnership with big ambitions and open minds, embracing what’s already working and innovating beyond traditional philanthropy. Some areas we focus on: women in technology and innovation; Women in public office; women and girls of color; adolescent mental health; paid family and medical leave; and caregiving. Inspired by our founder, we reach across communities and sectors to bring together changemakers who can scale up proven ideas and catalyze new ones. We learn from their experiences, amplify their resources, then step back so they can lead. Our impatience with the status quo is fueled by an optimism that progress is always possible.

As a public fund that invests in opportunities where there is both measurable social impact and financial outcome, InBC offers a unique contribution to investment capital in British Columbia. Increasing overall investment capital available within B.C. Engaging across all regions of the province Investing with long-term timelines aligned to big visions and triple bottom line objectives Actively supporting companies and venture funds with a strong connection to B.C. Prioritizing the potential that exists across diverse populations, communities and sectors Investment objectives InBC’s investment decisions are guided by impact objectives that link to the triple bottom line approach – People, Planet and Profit. While no specific amount of money is allocated to each objective, InBC seeks to ensure that any investment it makes aligns to at least one of these impact objectives, demonstrates a strong connection to B.C., benefits the B.C. economy and generates financial returns. Investment criteria InBC invests in companies and venture funds that demonstrate strong and measurable opportunities aligned to our People, Planet, Profit approach: People: Investments will support an inclusive economy for British Columbians and advance reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. Planet: Investments will create new jobs and opportunities associated with a net-zero future and climate resiliency. Profit: Investments will have growth potential to achieve a positive financial return for British Columbians and support InBC’s ability to be an evergreen fund.