ABN AMRO and Social Enterprise NL: gaining across the board

Four of the bank’s departments are involved in the partnership: the Sustainable Finance Desk, the Social Impact Fund, Group Sustainability and Sponsoring. The broad support within the bank for this partnership is very telling: “Social enterprise is part of what ABN AMRO stands for,” says Group Sustainability’s Tjeerd Krumpelman. “These entrepreneurs combine their drive to set up a successful company with their desire to make a meaningful difference tosociety. They’re redefining what it means to be successful. This mentality is inspiring, and will only become more important as time goes on.”

All around the world, the need for more sustainable economic solutions is becoming more and more pressing. Social enterprises are a key force for innovation, taking the lead in the transition towards a more sustainable economy in which shared value is the norm. 

Although it is still in its infancy, the market for social enterprises has a tremendous growth potential. Impact investors that see opportunities for leveraging that potential vastly prefer companies in the growth phase, however, and unfortunately many social enterprises have yet to reach that stage. Seeking to overcome this problem, ABN AMRO was one of the foundingpartners of Social Enterprise NL, the Dutch national platform for social enterprises. It’s a win- situation, explains Stefan Panhuijsen of Social Enterprise NL’s management team: “With an organisation such as ABN AMRO, we can offer our a very exciting network. At the same time, our members are a source of inspiration for the bank and its clients.”