On 28 November, 100x Impact Accelerator, a world-leading social impact accelerator based at LSE, celebrated its first-ever cohort of social ventures at its flagship event – Summit Day. The event brought together nearly 200 individuals from across the impact community, including partners, experts, policymakers, funders, and the media.

Eight high-impact social ventures that collectively received £1.2 million in funding from the LSE took to the stage to showcase their innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing issues. The diverse cohort comprises organisations from across the globe, from India to Jordan, from Tanzania to the United States.

Richa Gupta, the CEO and co-founder of Labhya, who delivered the day’s first pitch, said: “Summit Day provided a unique platform for us. You usually don’t get such an opportunity to talk about children’s wellbeing in a room full of supporters, experts and policymakers. We are glad that our solution has been amplified to this impactful community and are hoping for the connections made from this programme and event to help propel Labhya's impact on children to greater heights.”

Stephan Chambers, the Director of the Marshall Institute at LSE and the event host, said; “100x Impact Accelerator is uniquely placed at the London School of Economics, which is a powerhouse of expertise, resources, and global networks. So, Summit Day aimed to leverage this position to foster connections, facilitate investment and grant-making opportunities, and amplify the impact of these exceptional social ventures, and we are pleased that this was realised today.”

The event was carefully designed to focus on social ventures and to celebrate their bold solutions to global problems. It was also a space for thought-provoking discussions, with an insightful panel discussion and an engaging keynote address delivered by LSE partner UBS’s Global Head of Social Impact & Philanthropy Services - Tom Hall.

“What breaks my heart more than anything is seeing amazing entrepreneurs like we’ve heard from today set up something remarkable that’s delivering impact, and it cannot scale. And that’s why partnerships like what we are seeing now with 100x and UBS, searching for the impact unicorns of the future, are so important and critical.” Tom said during his keynote.

Other speakers included 100x Founding Director, Leslie Labruto, Head of Impact Investments, Fan Gu, and 100x’s Impact Investment Committee members: Jerome Misso, Mohammed Osman, and Robyn Scott.

Summit Day is a culmination of 100x’s 12-week bespoke programme where founders undertook an insightful journey covering topics like end-game theory, scaling strategy, fundraising, impact measurement and wellbeing. Programme sessions also included guest talks from experts and established social unicorn founders to share their own journeys.

“100x has been an incredible opportunity for our venture. It enabled us to be around super-talented teams and organisations with laser-focused visions, aspiring to achieve massive things, which is a big motivation for us,” said Simon Debere, co-founder of Afya Pamoja.

He added: “Summit Day was a fantastic opportunity for us to lay out what is really possible and curate our story and idea to a room full of impact leaders. The connections and relationships we were able to form in just a day are unbelievable.”

Now, the cohort, having completed the programme, will embark on implementing their learnings and leveraging the connections made to elevate their impact. 100x aims to nurture a robust alumni network, offering continued support through follow-on funding, events, research, and partnerships.