Philanthropic Sidecar
The Supply Chain Innovation Fund
The Sidecar
Working Capital’s Philanthropic fund was created to support pre-investment and seed-stage social enterprises with funds from Humanity United’s Corporate Engagement portfolio and expanded with funding from UK aid. It aimed to bring promising innovations to a stage where investment via Working Capital Investment Fund or others may be feasible.
The Philanthropic sidecar focused on organizations building tools and services in the areas of responsible recruitment, worker engagement, traceability, and big data/risk assessment.
Learnings
Access to much needed experts
Grantees were able to refine or redirect their product focus, develop business models, and leverage technical expertise. This helped many grantees demonstrate organizational sustainability and develop plans for new investors and clients.
Nascent market survival
Technical assistance grants served as key support to 19 products and services during the early startup phase. Grants allowed for the continued support of philanthropic opportunities in responsible recruitment.
Convening grantees was a key form of assistance
Grantee focused events allowed attendees from 10 countries to learn from each other and continue collaboration as they returned home.
Indirect influence on multinational corporations addressing forced labor
Grantees are gaining traction with corporate customers but often find it challenging to influence decisions without proof of product or a full supply chain or process solution.
Our Partners & Sponsors
Our aim is to use our philanthropy in collaboration with others to transform the supply chain systems we rely on.
Lack of transparency is one reason some global supply chains continue to exploit workers or use forced labor. Open Society Foundations is proud to be one of a distinguished group of investors partnering with Humanity United in the Working Capital Fund to find new ways to make global supply chains more transparent, reducing exploitation and transforming employment practices.