Here at All Good Ventures, we’re flipping the script on conventional charity work.
Without question, typical aid approaches are wonderful and vital and life changing. But as All Good Ventures took shape in 2018, we wondered…
What if generosity could scale?
What if we could put our resources and energy into something that sparks a chain reaction of change – that lasts?
Because social challenges are complex and often need solutions that sustain themselves.
That’s why our approach is a little different. Instead of giving directly to people in need or a single cause, we invest in and support multiple social enterprise businesses that then create lasting, multiplying impact for marginalised communities around the world.
How it works
Every year, we walk alongside up to 5 social entrepreneurs, giving them money (seed funding), mentoring (to refine and implement a business strategy) and muscle (access to free or subsidised guidance from other professionals).
In particular, we choose to support changemakers with early-stage, people-liberating business ideas that aim to use profits to bring freedom to people in desperate need.
By the end of the 1-year programme, each entrepreneur has not only grown their business but built the foundations for self-sustaining impact in the communities they serve.
And while it’s business leaders we support, we measure our impact by the number of lives improved through their hard work.
Impact highlights
Our 2025 Impact Report, released in October, captures how this work has grown. Here’s a snapshot of what that collective effort looks like to date.
22 social enterprise businesses supported across 14 countries.
$262k in seed funding distributed to help social enterprises start and scale.
$260k invested into our endowment fund with Momentum Waikato.
506 hours of mentoring provided through our network of business experts and advisors.
A growing pool of 16 volunteer international business mentors contribute skills and experience.
100% of ventures found mentoring valuable.
94% reported positive progress and growth thanks to the support provided.
4.9x higher startup success rate relative to industry average.*
375,930 lives positively impacted to date through employment, education, healthcare and sustainability initiatives.**
Why it works
The right help at the right time
Our support comes early, when an injection of capital, strategy or support can change a venture’s entire trajectory and remove barriers that stop founders before they start.
Impact that powers itself
While project-based funding often ends when the budget ends, a trading enterprise, once stable, can fund itself. That creates a loop where impact isn’t tied to a single grant cycle, but to a self-sustaining business.
Local leadership, local fit
Founders build in communities they know. They understand the real costs, the cultural context and their customers. That local knowledge helps them design solutions that are far more likely to last.
Dignity through decent work
Enterprises create jobs and local ownership. Often communities aren’t only recipients of help, they become co-creators of the solution, with income and agency.
Skills that stay with the founder
Founders leave with real-world skills in planning, finances and operations that they’ll use long after the programme ends. Those skills carry into every future project they take on.
Multiplying impact in action
So, what does this ripple effect look like on the ground?
Here’s a snapshot of how two enterprises from our most recently completed cohort (2024/2025) are putting purpose into practice.
💡 Village Solar, Malawi
When Village Solar joined the programme, they had formed a founding team, developed a basic business model and launched with 45 women distributing imported solar lamps to people in Malawi living without power.
They needed support finalising their business strategy to tackle import issues and scale successfully.
With All Good Ventures’ funding, mentoring and technical support, they launched Kwathu Kuwale, the country’s first women-led energy cooperative.
They’ve since developed and tested their own locally made bamboo-based Kwalu Eco Lamp, with rollout underway for 2025.
And with extra funding referred via All Good Ventures, they’ve built a fully equipped local assembly hub.
To date, 65 women have helped distribute 824 lamps and home systems, bringing clean, reliable light to 4,120 people ⬇️
💊Hulu Medicine, Ethiopia
In Ethiopia and Sub-Saharan Africa, life-saving medicines are often out of reach – pharmacies can be miles apart and supplies unpredictable. Hulu Medicine set out to change that.
When they entered our programme, they’d already validated the market and were running a pilot with 48 pharmacies. They had helped 116 patients quickly access hard-to-find medications using their tech platform.
They needed support to strengthen their business model and plan for growth.
With the support of All Good Ventures, they rolled out a referral programme to grow pharmacy partnerships and expand access.
Their tech platform now connects patients with over 337 pharmacies, and has processed 3,000+ medicine search requests for elusive medication.
By reinvesting profits and using data collected through the platform, Hulu Medicine is now producing insights on the local pharmaceutical market and is seeking partners to invest in these insights to help scale the service ⬇️. (See more stories like these in our 2025 Impact Report)
Our self-sustaining funding model
The All Good Ventures model was first fueled by profits from co-founder Heather Claycomb’s Hamilton-based PR agency, HMC, and early gifts from the founders and friends.
In 2021, we partnered with Momentum Waikato to establish an endowment fund to create an enduring stream of funding.
The fund works like this: all donations to All Good Ventures are invested for the long term and returns are used each year to help us operate, grow and support new entrepreneurs. As the fund grows, so does its capacity to back more ventures creating a sustainable, ongoing source of funding that doesn’t depend solely on annual appeals. (Read more on pages 28-29 of our 2025 Impact Report).
Be part of the ripple
Become an All Good Venture
If you’re a founder with a people-liberating business idea, we’d love to hear from you. We accept applications from social entrepreneurs worldwide between 1 – 31 March each year. Check out the full criteria.
Volunteer with us
If you're an experienced business leader wanting to 'give back' to a purpose-led start-up founder, look no further. We're always looking to add to our mentor and Muscle Partner network. EOIs from all countries, and all industries welcome. Email us and we’ll provide more info: beth@allgood.ventures
Donate
Our aim is to grow donations to $10 million in our endowment fund by 2030. That’s enough to support more than 10 times the enterprises we currently back each year and change the lives of more than 10 million people worldwide.
You can help by donating today with every dollar invested into the endowment fund.
* www.explodingtopics.com/blog/startup-failure-stats
**This cumulative total reflects the ongoing impact reported by all alumni enterprises that respond to our annual survey.