Entrepreneurial solutions

As a corporate philanthropy, we see our unique opportunity to contribute to climate and health resilience in our ability to de-risk early-stage entrepreneurial solutions and to foster their development into sustainable businesses. And we see impassioned entrepreneurs who deeply understand the challenges involved as key agents of sustainable positive change.

We provide philanthropic funding, technical assistance and coaching to social enterprises that are in the validation, development, growth or expansion stage and address urgent climate and health challenges in vulnerable communities.

In all our collaborations with social enterprises, we see our role as bridging the critical gap between grant dependence and revenue-driven growth that every social business must traverse to have a lasting impact on resilience.

In our own flagship programme Entrepreneurs for Resilience, social enterprises that are working to make healthcare accessible to underserved communities with innovative approaches vie for funding and technical assistance. After an intensive on-site evaluation, six to eight shortlisted candidates are chosen to receive grant and additional coaching in preparation for a pitch that determines the allocation of a second round of funding, and further technical assistance.

In some cases, we work with an individual entrepreneur directly, as in Shine, our other flagship initiative. Now offered in eight countries and regions worldwide, this programme invites applications from founders of early-stage social enterprises who can demonstrate a holistic understanding of a specific challenge in one of our two focus areas addressing a niche market. The selected entrepreuner not only receives a validation grant, but also undergoes an immersive four-month learning programme during which they develop a scalable business plan together with a diverse team of Swiss Re experts.