About Us — Sumerian Foundation

Sumerian is an impact first investor where we seek to maximise the social or economic impact of our investments; financial returns are our secondary goal.

We support pioneering social enterprises and charities to achieve their impact potential. Sumerian has an intentional Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) focus where we prioritise organisations led by or serving women and people from the global majority.

The three key factors we look for in an organisation are:

Clear impact potential

Evidence the organisation is beyond its proof of concept stage and can take on repayable finance

Evidence the organisation has a competent and committed management team

Our experience is that most social enterprises and charities adopting market-based approaches typically demonstrate low and slow growth, and encounter frequent pivot points necessitating regular changes to their business plan. Reflecting these common characteristics, most social enterprises and charities therefore require access to:

Business skills support and mentorship that builds their core capacity

Patient, flexible and affordable funding tailored to their specific needs

Linkages to other stakeholders essential to their growth and impact

Our Key Learnings in Social Enterprises Achieving Viable Growth and Impact

People

Execution capacity is critical. Therefore, committed, capable and experienced management teams with a focus on impact are essential.

More than Money

Business skills support, mentorship and linkages with other stakeholders are critical for viable growth.

Appropriate Funding

Funding must be structured to fit the specific needs of each social enterprise. We collaborate with our partners to tailor appropriate funding that meets their organisation’s needs.

Patience, Persistence and Flexibility

Social enterprises typically follow a low and slow growth path, and encounter many pivot points. So patience, flexibility and persistence are required.

Our Market Positioning

Sumerian is an impact first investor. We focus on the market segment where financial returns are unproven or require concessional financial returns.