We believe that equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) is critical to achieving our vision of a world where social transformation drives tech. We know that when technology is guided by these principles, it can be transformative.  This year, we’ve been working to develop our approach to EDI, ensuring these core principles are integral to our strategy and embedded in all that we do.

Our approach to EDI will naturally evolve over time. For now, it spans three core areas:

Growing a portfolio of ventures whose primary purpose is to advance equality

Our vision for social transformation to drive tech is only possible when EDI is at the forefront of tech development, enabling us to harness the positive power of technology and manage its negative impact. We have three core impact areas: communities, health and wealth. By looking at these areas through an ‘EDI lens’ it gives us a framework to imagine how the future could look when driven by equality.

Supporting and investing to meet the needs of diverse founders and ventures

Our ventures tell us the biggest factor limiting their growth is the availability of suitable investment, closely followed by access to networks and expertise.

Our continued focus on inclusive and flexible finance demonstrates our commitment to opening funding opportunities to a more diverse group of ventures, while our partnership programmes are designed to expand a venture’s tech, commercial and impact management capabilities. We provide access to networks that will fuel their development and offer individual one-to-one support to ensure founders and their teams receive support tailored to their particular needs.

Working with others to improve our practice

We are working on expanding and strengthening our networks and eliminating barriers in our selection processes to ensure we reach diverse pools of talent both within our team and venture portfolio. We have begun to gather D&I data on our team, our ventures, and their users to enable us to measure our progress.

Through membership of forums including Equality Impact Investing Project, we are continuously learning and applying best practice in equality, diversity and inclusion and we are looking forward to strengthening those connections and further expanding our network.

With every aspect of our work, our approach is built on listening, learning and collaboration.  If you’re interested in learning more about our approach to EDI, please contact us at hello@socialtechtrust.org.