OUR STORY
2B-Community is an impact venture capital fund that invests in high growth, mission-driven businesses. 2B-Community was founded in 2016 by Yoel Cheshin (Chairman and Anchor LP) and Shahar Botzer (Managing Partner), who were later joined by Eli Arkin and Judith Adler. At 2B-Community, we take a lead role in building early-stage companies, helping them establish robust scalable business models and position themselves for future funding. We invest in strong leadership teams and empower them to build conscious organizations with a clear impact purpose.
With $10M under management, 2B-Community has made eight pre-seed and seed investments
covering three overall themes:
STARTUP NATION
As Israelis, we find great meaning in promoting positive impact on Israeli society and its diverse populations. Despite its small size, Israel faces a broad range of challenges – demographic, geographic, social, and environmental making it a microcosm of many global issues. Thus, within Israel we create solutions that impact the country but have potential to scale globally.
THE FUTURE OF WORK
Work and employment, as we know them, are facing disruption and we will see a significant transformation over the coming decades. Recent analyses peg globalization and technological innovations, such as automation, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and autonomous systems, as the main triggers driving transformation to take place. 2B-Community invests in companies that support people and organizations to tackle today’s challenges through education and inclusive employment to prepare for the future.
COMMUNITY
2B-Community believes that communities hold the power to drive profitable business models and catalyze social progress. We aim to promote fundamental freedoms and equal opportunity by building cohesive consumer and business communities that strengthen the sense of identity of their members; use their collective economic power to meet their needs; and act as a platform for their members to promote mutual social values.
2B-Community is a leader and plays a key role in building Israel’s emerging impact ecosystem. Our fund further aims to accelerate this industry by actively participating in global impact networks, such as TONIIC, Nexus, and the Jewish Funders Network (JFN).
In 2018, our fund established 2B-Hub, a coworking space in South Tel Aviv that serves as the central home for Israel’s impact community. 2B-Hub offers offices and event space to members of the community to engage, learn, and collaborate around social impact. The management team coordinates activities for office tenants, members of the impact community, and the local residents in its underserved neighborhood of Tel Aviv. 2B-Hub hosts approximately 100 impact events a year and offers mentorship opportunities for members of the office and impact ecosystem to bring impact-makers together and accelerate the impact community.
2B-Community is a part of 2B-Group, which also includes 2B-Angels, a venture fund investing in high-growth technology companies, and 2B-Friendly, an NGO dedicated to improving society through social and environmental consumerism.
For further information regarding our story and the founders of the fund, please visit our website:
2B COMMUNITY IN NUMBERS
FUND AGENDA
We actively leverage our portfolio companies by helping them implement an impact management and governance practices. We are committed to the values of the Conscious Capitalism practice:
Businesses should exist for reasons beyond just making a profit. Knowing WHY the business exists, provides a compass to find and stay focused on.
2B Community recognizes the business sector is an engine for spearheading social change. Our fund works with each of portfolio company to define and clarify their organizational purpose
Conscious leaders focus on “we”, rather than “me.” Such leaders inspire and foster transformation to bring out the best in those around them.
2B-Community invests in strong leadership teams that recognize their role in promoting change, to support the people within the organization and to create value for the all of the organization’s stakeholders.
Conscious Businesses focus on their entire operational capacity of a business ecosystem. The Conscious Business creates and optimizes value for all stakeholders, with the understanding that strong and engaged stakeholders lead to a healthy, sustainable, resilient business. Our stakeholders include entrepreneurs, consumers, workers, suppliers, investors and the community.
We view culture as the embodied values, principles, and practices that fuel the social fabric of a business, and which inform the business’ actions and connects its stakeholders to each other and to the company’s purpose.
Since March 2018, 2B-Community has been accredited as a certified B-Corporation (“B-Corp”), with a high score of 99.1. The B Corp certificate signals to the socially conscious business ecosystem that 2B-Community strongly considers the social and environmental impacts that our business decisions have on our stakeholders. Successfully achieving the B-Corp certificate demonstrates, once again, our commitment to balancing purpose and profit.
To further demonstrate our commitment to the impact ecosystem in Israel, we have contractually obligated all our portfolio companies to apply and obtain a B Corp status. This past year, we were honored to be included in B-Corp’s 2019 best in the World list.
OUR IMPACT PORTFOLIO
This report was prepared using the Impact Management Project’s methodology for impact reporting. This methodology is based on the understanding that impact can be deconstructed and assessed by five dimensions: what, who, how much, contribution, and risk. This report analyzes the impact of our portfolio companies with regards to these five dimensions.
IMPACT DIMENSION & IMPACT QUESTIONS TO ANSWER
• What long-term outcomes do our business activities drive?
• How important are these outcomes to the people (or more broadly, the planet) who experience the outcomes?
• Who experiences the outcome?
• How underserved are the affected stakeholders in relation to the outcome?
• How much of the outcome occurs – across scale, depth and duration?
• How much of the outcome occurs – across scale, depth and duration?
• What is the risk to people (and planet) that impact does not occur as expected?
As part of each portfolio company’s’ risk management processes, the operational and performance risks are identified, mapped and monitored on a systematic and ongoing basis to mitigate their severity and prevent the likelihoodof occurring. This report presents the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each portfolio comapny,
adapting and constantly updating in relation to each company’s operational changes over the years. The KPIs selected represent the framework that was established based on the relevant criteria of 2019 and actively assess the company’s performance.
UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGs)
The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a set of 17 global goals shared by UN member countries to build a better, more sustainable future for all by 2030. The SDGs address global challenges and create a list of priorities that are interconnected with the future of the global community. The SDGs encourage governments, corporations and non-profit organizations to collaborate on finding solutions.
The 17 goals can be broken down into 169 sub-topics addressing a wide range of environmental, social and economic issues, such as poverty, hunger, climate change, education, water and sanitation, health, gender equality, and energy.
The SDGs provide a framework to understand the challenges we face, specifically as investors who need to understand global trends relevant to impact investment and our fiduciary duties.
Research has demonstrated that investors can improve their long-term financial performance by investing in socially- conscious organizations and acting in a way that encourages sustainable economies and markets. It is our view that any investor should view the SDGs as a key source for financial return and a driver of global economic growth. The Business and Sustainable Development Commission¹ (BSDC), estimates that incorporating the SDGs into a company’s business strategy and its policies will have the potential to unlock economic opportunities worth at least US$12 trillion a year by 2030 and generate up to 380 million jobs, primarily in developing countries. Furthermore, the BSDC estimates that implementing the SDGs could at least double the total economic growth.
¹ The Business and Sustainable Development Commission (BSDC) is a collection of 36 leaders from business, finance, civil society, labour and international organizations exploring why and how business can contribute to delivering the SDGs.
Future
of Work
Portfolio with Impact
ELEVATION
WHO WE ARE
Founded in 2014, Elevation is a tech-academy as a service (TAAAS), that provides industry-based educational opportunities and enable talent growth for organizations. Elevation encourages organizations to find unpolished candidates for the job and to actively train the talent in an effort to provide value from day one. Armed with the latest and most up-to-date expertise, Elevation helps organizations identify existing talents within the organization’s workforce, and helps upskill or reskill them for their next position within the company to avoid onboarding new employees and retain internal workers, thereby improving organizational culture. Elevation is creating an ongoing employability value that saves cost by reducing talent churn and improving productivity.
Further, as part of its impact mission and in an effort to make the future of work more equitable, Elevation provides subsidized courses and training opportunities to disadvantaged members of society. This offering works to level the playing field in Israel’s advanced workforce ecosystem, enabling industry access to new eligible candidates.
In 2019, the company tripled the number of employees and expanded, requiring a move to a new and improved office location. The company sits on Rothschild Boulevard in central Tel Aviv. The leadership organized the first company=wide training abroad in Panama.
PRODUCT
Elevation designed a unique learning opportunity for organizations to continuously acquire, onboard and retain employees in various tech-related positions. The company helps to continuously retrain teams with the most up-to-date in-demand skills. Elevation’s “Kernel” OS creates a real-time snapshot of the organization’s level of tech-skills.
Elevation’s portfolio includes high-in-demand courses. The company uses unique methods for practical teaching and learning opportunities, and continuously- develops new training programs for relevant and in-demand skills. The course offerings include professional classes, five-day workshops, and six-month bootcamps to provide trainees with the industry’s best practices to increase their employability and prepare them for the ever-changing technological landscape.
In an effort to provide the best learning opportunities, Elevation collaborates with exceptional and leading figures and organizations in the hi-tech industry as lecturers and content providers. Elevation has a versatile training methodology and an ability to maintain a dynamic syllabus and find the best next thing in the industry.
Elevation works to ensure that students and trainees are provided with practical skills and abilities that go beyond an academic education and connects them to the local business ecosystem’s most up-to-date needs.
As part of their contribution to the Future of Work, Elevation continuously advocates for its students’ employability in the local job market by connecting students to potential employers.
IMPACT
• High-end training for hi-tech professions
• Helps disadvantaged populations gain competitive, in-demand skills which generates access to hi-tech professions
• Knowledgeable and experienced employees who wish to acquire new skills
• Younger population demographic with no academic background
• Senior HR, learning & development managers, organizational development directors, R&D team leaders and CEO’s
• Life-long learning for all trainees
• Life-long employment for all trainees
• In-depth learning, allows trainees to experience high-end courses, extensive material and up-to-date advanced knowledge
• Enables new employment opportunities of underprivileged or unexperienced populations with fewer employment opportunities
• Opportunity to increase knowledge and skillset for underprivileged populations and improve local economy
• Up-to-date training that leads to improved performance by current, experienced employees
MEASUREMENT OF COMPANY IMPACT PERFORMANCE
Elevation’s KPIs measure the company’s performance in terms of business development and impact generated. The goal of periodically reviewing their performance is to monitor progress and design programs that will continuously grow business profit and social impact.
UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGS)
The following three SDGs are highlighted in regards to Elevation’s practices:
RELEVANT SDG TARGETS
4.3. By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university
4.4. By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship
ELEVATION’S REPLY
• Elevation aims to deliver quality courses by collaborating with leaders and known organizations in the hi-tech industry
• Elevation guarantees funding directed to education for disadvantaged populations
• Elevation ensures underprivileged populations are able to access educational tools by providing discounted (or fully subsidized) courses.
RELEVANT SDG TARGETS
8.2. Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation, including through a focus on high-value added and labor-intensive sectors
8.3. Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services
ELEVATION’S REPLY
• Elevation is committed to diversity in its courses and in the job market; courses are available to students from all backgrounds, including those of disadvantaged populations.
• Elevation collaborates with many types of organizations in the hi-tech ecosystem, including: startups, small to medium business (SMBs), and corporations.
RELEVANT SDG TARGETS
10.1. By 2030, progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 percent of the population at a rate higher than the national average
ELEVATION’S REPLY
• Elevation offers pro-bono courses for underprivileged populations, to increase their employment in the job market.
ELEVATION
SHOWCASING OUR IMPACT
Elevation operates two unique programs in the educational/training world of hi-tech knowledge and innovation. The programs’ focus on local communities and Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs), are part of Elevation’s contribution to the local economy and personal well-being
“TechFactory”’s main objective is to increase the productivity of industrial enterprises in Israel by using data, innovation and technological tools. The program is designed to identify employees with a new and innovative skillset and offer them training from leading experts who work in fields such as data analysis, digital marketing, and human capital management.
“TechFactory” was established in July 2018 based on leading international research, conducted by Deloitte, on the benefits of data analysis on productivity in the industry. With the support of Google Israel, which provides program funding, Elevation is able to increase the accessibility of “TechFactory” trainings and offer this program to small-medium factories through 230 hours of training, at an affordable price for each factory.
Since the program’s inception, Elevation impacted 50 factories across the State of Israel. “TechFactory” continues to expand its reach, influencing factories to adopt innovative methods for operational efficiency and business excellence. Elevation received positive feedback
on its efforts to streamline business processes and improve companies’ time-management.
This helps company executives trust employees to execute tasks in-house, while enriching them with skills and capabilities to expanding their knowledge.
Elevation’s program, “Excellenteam”, was jointly established with the Start Up Nation Central foundation in 2018. The program is designed for students of disadvantaged populations who are pursuing Computer Science degrees. This program takes place in Jerusalem and is conducted by Elevation’s team of knowledgeable lecturers from the company’s Jerusalem branch. Each cycle of this program is composed by equal representation of two populations segments – Ultra-Orthodox Jewish women and the Arab community. Students who are eligible to participate in this program will receive a monthly scholarship, as well as assistance and consultation with job placements upon graduation.
There have been four successfully completed cycles of training, and five more are expected to take place in 2020. The duration of each “Excellenteam” training cycle is 3.5 months, during which the students learn the C++ and Python programming languages and relevant concepts. With this added knowledge and Elevation’s professional network of connections in the local job market, more than 85% of graduates had secured a position at leading companies, such as: Mobileye, Google, Amazon, Western Digital, Check Point and Ex Libris Group. “Excellenteam” graduates enjoy an impressive elevated average pay rate, estimated well above the average pay compared to their affiliated population segments.
SHAMAYM
WHO WE ARE
Shamaym is a forefront platform for continuous improvement that creates a high-performance culture for organizations. Shamaym is based on accustomed procedures from the Israeli Air Force (IAF), with its solution based around lessons learned software, methodologies and routines that have improved business results for dozens of high-growth companies.
Shamaym was founded in 2013 by veteran pilots of the IAF, who discovered that the IAF’s excellence was based on its unique learning culture, characterized by a simple, yet productive, debriefing method. Shamaym strives to inspire individuals to view mistakes as learning opportunities, assume personal accountability and take ownership, not only of successes, mistakes, and mishaps, but also of the learning process.
world’s largest database of lessons learned and to extract personal insights for improved performance by using AI technology.
The learning experience is completed by creating an accepted and known working language and culture within the organization, focusing on solution-aimed processes, including the implementation of innovative software. The goal is for Shamaym trained employees to lead true cultural change within the organization, by providing them with debriefing tools and directing them to independently lead and sustain the debriefing culture in their ever-learning organization.
PRODUCT
Using its Software as a Service (SaaS) tool & training services, Shamaym enables organizations to share lessons learned to continuously learn from their performance, and become learning organizations. Shamaym’s technology will allow it to build the
IMPACT
Shamaym trains organizations with new methods of continuous mutual learning, to promote improvement within the organization and among its people.
The SAAS is offered to different organization types of various sectors, from global corporations, such as financial institutions, hi-tech companies, and pharmaceuticals, to start-up companies, educational institutions, and hospitals.
Trained individuals are able to share their newly acquired skillset and lessons learned with their colleagues and in the workplace, or in their home environment, for the long term
Shamaym helps organizations implement advanced debriefing routines for ordinary events as a way of conduct, based on the perception that understanding new work methods and aiming for constant improvement, rather than solely investigating faults after the fact, are important in order to:
• Improve efficiency and time management
• Encourage transparency and a sense of accountability
MEASUREMENT OF COMPANY IMPACT PERFORMANCE
Shamaym’s KPIs are designed to measure organizational performance, both in terms of business development and impact generated. The measurement process and periodic reviews of the state of performance helps companies monitor their progress over time, in order to manage activities and continuously grow business profit and social impact.
UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGS)
The following two SDGs are highlighted with regards to Shamaym’s practices:
RELEVANT SDG TARGETS
4.4. By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship
4.7. By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development
SHAMAYM’S REPLY
• Shamayn provides added value to employees by expanding their skillsets through access to cutting edge analysis methodologies
• Shamaym helps organizations implement new, creative ways of thinking and problem-solving to improve decision-making and business outcomes
RELEVANT SDG TARGETS
8.2. Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through
diversification, technological upgrading and innovation, including through a focus on high-value added and labor-intensive sectors
SHAMAYM’S REPLY
• Shamaym’s training programs form dynamic and creative work environments, focused on innovation and awareness
• Shamaym creates a platform for continuous learning, improving and growth, suitable for all types of businesses and/or organizations
SHAMAYM
SHOWCASING OUR IMPACT
Since Shamaym’s establishment, the company took part in numerous projects across various areas of practice. Each project is an adaptation of Shamaym’s unique method to the designated organizational type, as part of their ever-growing and continuous self-improvement way of conduct.
Shamaym offered long-term, ongoing support to two medical centers in Israel; Emek Medical Center’s maternity ward and Rabin Medical Center’s ophthalmology internship program, on projects spanning between six months to a year. Shamaym’s team accompanied the medical centers with their distinctive professional knowledge and skills to train staff members with innovative debriefing methodologies, and by offering ongoing support, trainings and guiding them on the internal evaluation of results, which was led by physicians.
After the training period was completed, the data that was compiled by the staff at Emek Medical Center, who identified reduced hospital stays for both mothers and newborns, as well as the creation of a professional post-delivery checklist. At Rabin
Medical Center, the use of Shamaym’s methods helped create an efficient debriefing process between peers, alongside a weekly team learning meetings for surgical training.
From an administrative perspective, upon the introduction of a monthly departmental learning forum led by senior management, the Emek Medical Center incorporated significant changes in its organizational behavior. For example, they adopted a self-learning technological tool used after medical procedures. At Rabin Medical Center, the team reported increased productivity. This includes improved teamwork and team communications, driven by professional challenges, and improved personal accountability and responsibility by employees to claim their mistakes.
PARTNERS & CO
WHO WE ARE
Partners & Co was founded in 2018 and offers 4,500 square-meters of luxurious work spaces and community engagement exclusively designed and dedicated for attorneys. The company’s vision is to create a professional lawyers’ community and provide them with the amenities of a leading law firm. Partners & Co believes in social activism and seeks to share this value internally as well as externally, while reaching out to local communities in-need. The leadership team believes that the legal community is an asset to any company. Lawyers have a wealth of knowledge and power, but in order to help lawyers impart this knowledge to others, a social mechanism is necessary. Partner & Co’s mechanism is simple, but has a big impact: for every hour of mentorship via the internal employee mentoring program, the lawyers invest three pro-bono hours to benefit the local community.
Since its establishment, Partners & Co offers a mentorship program, in which leaders from the legal world provide guidance to the lawyers. The mentors are identified by members of the legal community, and include senior partners from leading Israeli law firms, retired judges, academics, marketing, advertising and PR consultants, business professionals, and more.
The lawyers who participate in this program are entitled to unlimited mentoring hours per month and in return, contribute pro bono hours to disadvantaged communities and populations in need.
Members of the program can choose from various mentorship offerings, which include personal guidance, lectures or tailor-made courses, and more. In return, Partners & Co collaborates and offers pro-bono services to local entities, including the “Orly and Guy’s friendship line”, an Israeli public benefit company which pairs volunteers from all types of business orientations with individuals in need. Partners & Co also initiates programs for chosen causes such as helping people from the Ethiopian community in Israel, or offers the lawyers the opportunity to contribute to their chosen organization.
Additionally, as of 2019, 10% of company profits will be contributed in favor of social activities.
PRODUCT
4,500 square meters of professional and collaborative co-working space is designed and exclusively designated fort the lawyer community. This plug & play office solution for small-to-medium sized law firms offers a stylish design and a full set of services to meet the specific needs of law firms. Partners & Co has created a legal eco-system and community that shares knowledge to enable collaboration and synergies.
IMPACT
• Partners & Co is a wo-working space, plug & play office solution
• The company offers premium pro-bono legal counseling for underrepresented communities
• The professional legal community that participates in the mentorship program provides quality guidance for lawyers
• Independent lawyers and small-to-medium sized law firms Attorneys
• who participate are eligible to receive mentorship and professional guidance from industry leaders for their career path
• Over 600 pro bono hours have been contributed by Partners & Co lawyers
• 350 lawyers and legal advisors participate in the office mentorship program
• Partners & Co offers a full set of services for the specific needs of law firms
• Individuals from disadvantaged populations, who were otherwise unable to seek legal support are able to receive counseling from
Partners & Co’s lawyer network
• Lawyers are member of an active legal community which helps build a professional network for consultation and collaboration
and provides tools to create a professional brand
MEASUREMENT OF COMPANY IMPACT PERFORMANCE
Partners & Co’s KPIs are designed to measure the company’s performance for both business development and impact generated. The measurement process and the periodic review of the current state of performance helps the company monitor its progress over time, in order to manage its activities and continuously grow business profit and social impact.
UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGS)
The following two SDGs are highlighted in regard to Partners & Co’s practices:
RELEVANT SDG TARGETS
8.3. Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services
PARTNERS & CO’S REPLY
Partners & Co aims to assist small and medium sized businesses in the legal industry. The company offers unique services such as shared workspaces, meeting rooms, professional collaboration opportunities, and improved branding, and more.
RELEVANT SDG TARGETS
16.3. Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all
PARTNERS & CO’S REPLY
Partners & Co opened a community based co-working space for lawyers. The service offered helps facilitate the lawyers’ working conditions and provides support new attorneys seeking mentors in their field. By providing pro-bono counseling hours to disadvantaged populations, as part of the office service, Partners & Co helps more people access quality legal services and helps them understand their legal rights and receive equal opportunity. Partners & Co is committed to a society in which there is justice for all.
AMPERSAND
WHO WE ARE
Ampersand is a joint co-working space and a home for high-tech companies for the Ultra-Orthodox community. Co-founded by Moshe Freidman and Avreimi Wingut, Ampersand started operating in May 2018 with the goal of integrating the men and women’s labor markets in the Ultra-Orthodox community, and in the high-tech sector in particular. Since its establishment, Ampersand maintains a reputation as an inclusive and modern work-environment suited for the traditional Ultra-Orthodox population, and continues to grow the company’s potential. Further, Ampersand provides job placements for Ultra- Orthodox men and women in the high-tech industry.
Ampersand hosts many free, on-site activities for the benefit of their community members, such as: English courses, consulting hours, mentorship, lectures, and meetings from leading business leaders, entrepreneurs and investors all of which is done in collaboration with the world’s largest companies such as Google, Facebook, Cisco, Ernst & Young, and more. These services allow the company to act as an accelerator for Ultra-Orthodox entrepreneurs and enrich members of the community with supportive training and business development education.
PRODUCT
This is the first market penetration of a collaborative work complex to the Ultra-Orthodox population segment in Israel, and it incorporates business potential with the outmost respect to the Ultra-Orthodox community. The workspace is suitable for both women and men, and accommodates separate working areas for men and women. Private working spaces are available, alongside open-spaces workstations. As of 2019, the Ampersand branch in Bnei Brak has 126 work stations.
IMPACT
• Ampersand offers modern, up-to-date working facilities suitable for working members of the Ultra-Orthodox community
• Ampersand provides job placements for Ultra Orthodox men and women into the local high-tech industry
• Ampersand’s separate work areas acommodate both women and men. A client can rent a workstation in the open space,
or reserve a private room or a meeting room
• All size high-tech companies that employ members of the Ultra-Orthodox community
• Freelance Ultra-Orthodox men and women
• 154 workstations
• Roughly 20,000 Ultra-Orthodox individuals are currently working in the hi-tech industry
• Ampersand offers cutting-edge workspaces with meeting rooms, private offices, and welcoming workstations in open spaces,
while respecting the religious traditions of the devout Ultra-Orthodox community
• Ampersand provides Ultra-Orthodox women working as freelances with a modest work environment to grow their business operations
MEASUREMENT OF COMPANY IMPACT PERFORMANCE
Ampersand’s KPIs are designed to measure the company’s performance, for both business development and impact generated. The measurement process and the periodic review of the current state of performance allows the company to monitor its progress over time, in order to manage its activity and continuously grow business profit and social impact.
UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGS)
The following three SDGs are highlighted in regards to Ampersand’s practices:
RELEVANT SDG TARGETS
5.5. Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political,
economic and public life
AMPERSAND’S REPLY
By creating a safe and respectful workspace for the Ultra-Orthodox community, Ampersand managed to empower
Ultra-Orthodox women to take business initiatives leading to professional growth.
RELEVANT SDG TARGETS
8.2. Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation, including through a focus on high-value added and labor-intensive sectors
8.3. Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services
AMPERSAND’S REPLY
Ampersand functions as a platform that enables small and medium sized enterprises and individuals from the Ultra-Orthodox community
to develop new business initiatives, innovations and creative solutions by and for their community.
RELEVANT SDG TARGETS
10.1. By 2030, progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 per cent of the population at a rate higher than the national average
10.2. By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin,
religion or economic or other status
AMPERSAND’S REPLY
Ampersand’s facilities offer men and women from the Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) community in Israel with a professional infrastructure that allows them to realize their basic right to work in an environment suitable to their specific needs. This empowers them to enter and join the high-tech market, which has a higher earning potential than other industries that employ members of their community, thus creating a stepping stone for higher remuneration possibilities.
Consumer
Communities
Portfolio with Impact
CONSUMER COMMUNITIES
Consumer communities refers to a group of individuals that joined their purchasing power to achieve benefits or discounts that meet their specific needs. Consumer communities exists for the sake of assisting and impacting specific populations segments in their day-to-day financial decisions and creating awareness for rational-consumerism and conscious-consumerism. This relates to groups with one or more shared interest or necessity, to which the platform provides an answer.
In our portfolio we have four companies based on consumer communities:Adif, Uniq, Mama Guru, and Collective Collection (CO.CO).Each company has its own unique solution, but several common characteristics can be identified:
The idea of focusing on a specific population and creating unique products that meet this community’s special needs and requirements
Providing community activities that are not only consumption-based, but also connect between community members
Launching social campaigns that not only deliver marketing content, but also provide content with tailored messages for the community
Provide financial savings through discounts on existing products or services or through developing new ones that solve a specific need
IMPACT
• Economic benefits for distinct communities
• Added value for effective and conscious consumerism
• Designated communities of underserved and disadvantaged populations, in particular: individuals with disabilities, students, and young parents
• Attentive consumers who care about the product value chain
• Millions of potential consumers, across various communities
• Financial savings for individual consumers who purchased products through the community offerings
• Offering unique purchasing opportunities, designed especially for designated market segments
• Knowledge sharing between community members on shared interest and spending habits
• Helping consumers learn and become aware of their consumption habits and shifting their consumption habits to
become more environmentally and socially conscious
• Increased sense of community to target market segments based on a social message tailored to the community
ADIF
WHO WE ARE
Adif is a unique credit card based-consumer club, founded in April 2017, and designed for people with disabilities. Adif aims to help this community, which is nearly 1 million people in Israel, reduce their cost of living and help them gain access to services and unique products that were previously unavailable to them. The company has partnered with a local, independent bank: HaPoalim and with a credit card company: Isracard.
sharing opportunities about consumer habits for the community. In 2019, Adif initiated its first community gathering, which included a fashion show featuring models with disabilities, a stand-up show by a deaf female performer, and more.
PRODUCT
Adif provides its community members with tailormade offerings that fit their unique needs, including a broad range of discounts for everyday needs such as consumer goods, food & beverage, and cultural activities alongside special deals for health and accessibility products. Adif’s community engagement includes a Facebook group that serves as an open platform for discussions, as well as knowledge
MEASUREMENT OF COMPANY IMPACT PERFORMANCE
Partners & Co’s KPIs are designed to measure the company’s performance for both business development and impact generated. The measurement process and the periodic review of the current state of performance helps the company monitor its progress over time, in order to manage its activities and continuously grow business profit and social impact.
UNIQ
WHO WE ARE
Uniq is a credit card-based consumer club for students. Established in 2018, Uniq is inspired and supported by MAX credit card company. It is designed for engagement by the 280K students and more then 2M alumni and ~30K faculty members and aims to create a consumer community with significant purchasing power for this group.
Since its establishment, approximately 30 new institutions and organizations have been recruited to collaborate with Uniq and spread the word about this emerging community. As a result, Uniq managed to form a community for thousands of consumers, within their designated market segment.
PRODUCT
Uniq’s value to its club members is the ability to enjoy discounts and benefits from a wide variety of businesses: restaurants, bars, live shows, fashion, movies, hotels, pharmacies, ecommerce sites, finance, and more. This includes permanent discounts in their MAX card, which is available free of charge, subject to the terms and conditions. Uniq focuses its efforts on reaching the local business community surrounding and in close proximity to academic institutions, also helping to engage students in their local communities.
MEASUREMENT OF COMPANY IMPACT PERFORMANCE
MAMA GURU
WHO WE ARE
Mama Guru was established in 2015 to address the subject of consumerism for mothers, based on the collective experience of mothers. Mama Guru aims to make it easier for young families to manage their finances amid the changing needs of a growing new family. As the largest consumer community for mothers, the Mama Guru Club enables members to obtain information on diverse products, by receiving authentic opinions from mothers, to inform purchases at attractive prices. For this club to succeed, reliability and credibility must remain the top priorities.
PRODUCT
Since its establishment, Mama Guru’s community continues to grow and prosper. The club has reached more than 250,000 loyal members on their website, Facebook page, and Facebook group The website presents fresh and unique content, articles, and videos with tips and reviews. Complimentary to that, the Facebook group’s purpose is to allow open discussions on every personal dilemma and consumer issue. Mama Guru also engages retail and commerce brands in specific targeted campaigns for the Mama Guru community. Our consumers get a unique offering and the brands get an in-depth engagement with their clients. Further, Mama Guru launched an E-Commerce platform for mothers, and offers discounts and products.
MEASUREMENT OF COMPANY IMPACT PERFORMANCE
2019 SOCIAL CAMPAIGNS
Promoted Purim holiday “gift” to raise money for “Beit Issie Shapiro”, an organization that aims to change the lives of people with disabilities. During the campaign, Mama Guru promoted and sold special gifts for individuals and kindergartens.
Introduced small businesses led by mothers within the community. Over the course of a two week period, we exposed the community to small businesses established by their fellow community members.
Held a safety themed month to raise awareness and provided important tips to young families concerning the safety of their kids at home and in the car.
CO.CO - Collective Collection
WHO WE ARE
CO.CO was founded in 2013 by Tsafra Perlmutter and Dalia Kapuza, who both have decades of experience in fashion design and management. CO.CO offers a new, revolutionary concept for shopping to support social values. CO.CO is the first online fashion retailer based on crowd funding and all new designs are offered on the website for preorder before they begin production. The pre-order purchases help anticipate demand and adjust quantities, therefore, promoting a solution to the fashion industry’s biggest problem – overproduction, which is the 2nd largest pollutant in the industry.
CO.CO developed the pre-order tool to reduce overproduction by 70%, and reduce the surplus inventory to only 3%, compared to the fashion industry benchmarks. The surplus garments are sold, and funds received are donated to a local NGO. CO.CO invites all customers to become clientpartners in their venture, to support their values, and to take part in CO.CO’s success. By having customers pay for products in advance, customers can turn an expense into an investment, gain a lifetime discount, and support CO.CO’s growth. Further, each client- partner is asked to choose a social cause to which 10% of the Company’s profit shall be transferred to by the “social shares” mechanism.
PRODUCT
CO.CO’s expansion strategy is based on featuring products in show rooms in client-partners’ homes, that operate as a chain store. Each show room can develop its own individual CO.CO community of customers and partners. The show room helps CO.CO reach communities in rural and peripheral areas, while offering social and economic benefits.
This further connects CO.CO to the community. In 2019 CO. CO operated 13 show rooms in Israel. In 2020 we plan to open four additional show rooms and further expend our on-line operations.
MEASUREMENT OF COMPANY IMPACT PERFORMANCE
ABOUT THIS REPORT
This report presents our portfolio companies’ yearly performance and activities and their impact on the local communities and within the society they operate.
Professional consultation regarding the report was provided by KPMG Somekh Chaikin
REPORTING PERIOD
All information contained in this report covers Fiscal Year 2019. In some cases, earlier years were considered for the sake of comparison, trend analysis, and future goal-setting. When such cases appear in the report, it is stated in conjunction to the data.
REPORTING CYCLE
This is 2B-Community’s first publicly available Impact Report. Our Fund will continue to publish this report on an annual basis, in order to keep our stakeholders updated on our activities and performance.
In the event of any inconsistency between the information in this report and any information in the Fund or portfolio companies’ quarterly and annual financial reports, the latter ones shall override. We welcome any comments, questions or suggestions you might have regarding this report.
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