Social Venture Fund
Overview | Student Participation
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Current Portfolio | Team
Members
Launched in September of 2009, the Social Venture Fund (SvF)
plans to invest in for-profit social enterprises. SvF will target
and invest in innovative companies that place the generation
of a significant social impact at the heart of their mission
and way of doing business. SvF aims to support the expansion
and proliferation of enterprises that respond to societal needs
that would otherwise not be met as effectively or at all by
other market players.
As the premier student-run social venture fund, SvF aims to
optimize the blended value of financial and social returns on
investments and to support the educational mission of the Ross
School of Business in the areas of socially- and environmentally-driven
venture investing and entrepreneurship.
SvF’s core strength rests in the breadth, depth, and
engagement of its investment team with its investees. Applying
a combination of due diligence review process used by traditional
venture capital firms with innovative cutting-edge measurements
focused on measuring social value creation, the SvF invests
in companies meeting the following criteria:
- A transformative scalable business model
- Led by a dedicated and skilled management team driven to
create a significant social impact
- Appreciation of and commitment to the educational add-value
of our fund to
the prospects of research commercialization
Our Mission
Transform the way business is done by educating the next generation
of socially-minded business leaders to invest in and manage
innovative, profitable, and sustainable businesses.
Investments
SvF aims to co-invest and syndicate deals with the expanding
number of socially-mind venture funds sharing similar financial
and social goals. SvF will use a diverse set of investment instruments
to maximize the flexibility in meeting an entrepreneur’s
needs and ensure exit opportunities for the Fund. SvF will provide
both early-stage and development capital to mission-aligned
companies in order to foster business growth and increase the
flow of social capital. SvF is currently fund-raising.
Background
Conceived and launched through the entrepreneurial efforts of
four Ross MBA students during their first year at Ross, the
Social Venture Fund is the country’s first student-run
social venture fund. SvF is overseen by Professor Gautam
Kaul and housed at the Zell Lurie Institute.
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