LSE introduces £50 million global accelerator to support social enterprises

The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) has launched a £50 million global initiative, the 100x Impact Accelerator, aimed at shaping a new generation of “social unicorns.”

The program is dedicated to nurturing high-potential social enterprises and enabling them to achieve positive impact on a massive scale.

The goal of the 100x Impact Accelerator is to identify the key ingredients that enable impact-driven organizations to think bigger and achieve more. It utilizes the successful business accelerator model from the private sector and aims to demonstrate how impact-driven organizations can break the cycle of grant-seeking and weak governance, which often limit an organization’s growth and impact potential.

Each selected social enterprise will receive a £150,000 grant, access to LSE’s world-class expertise, and a 12-week program of tailored support from experts and successful social unicorn founders.

The program will include two weeks of in-person sessions at LSE in London, 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.

The accelerator will support two cohorts of ten social enterprises every year, with 70% of these coming from emerging markets. It is looking for scale-up impact organizations that have a proven model, so it can help deliver their next big leap of growth.

The program will focus on eight sectors closely aligned with LSE, which are: climate and environment; health and social care; refugees and cohesion; equitable economies; happiness and wellbeing; democracy; education; and new frontiers.