I’ve been working the development field for thirty years and one of the first lessons I learned when still a trainee at the W.K.Kellogg Foundation, was the need for innovation to solve longstanding ‘social problems’. Be they in education, health, rural development, philanthropy & volunteerism – the main programme areas in the 1990s in Latin America – the Kellogg Foundation’s approach and main unique contribution was to bring different stakeholders to the same table and provoke a dialogue for problem solving from different angles. The complexity of the root causes to these areas, was a driving force that legitimized the call for different approaches, methodologies, projects and programs with a long term view. The second lesson or belief, was the risk capital approach with philanthropic resources – the most flexible capital to fund innovation and be held accountable to society is the commitment to share all lessons learned.
Fast forwarding these principles to how we have evolved as an ecosystem today, I believe we have embedded the aspiration to contribute to system change through the lens of social innovation and collective impact. This is a trend among leading national philanthropists, as the idea of philanthropy as a lever for change is central to the examples of co-funding initiatives, many of which in the Education field.
More recently this is being expressed in the Coalition for Impact, a 5-year program co-funded by twelve organizations that have committed to at least USD 6M philanthropic resources. The program runs in six cities of the country – one in each of the five regions – Belém in the north; Fortaleza in the northeast; Brasília in the Midwest; Campinas in the southeast and Paranaguá and Porto Alegre in the south. Four of these cities are capital cities of their states.
The overall vision is a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem that fosters innovation for a new economy, where social and environmental challenges become innovative, effective and inclusive business models that scale solutions, improving living standards for all.
Based on the prior experience of a decade playing a role as an orchestrator of the nascent ‘impact economy’ field, the Coalition for Impact was designed as a response to one of the recommendations to improve it in the following decade long cycle.
Brazil is a continental country with many contrasts. Ranked ninth largest economy according to the IMF, Brazil is also among the top 10 most unequal countries according to GINI index. The many social and environmental challenges can also be addressed through an opportunity lens, where these challenges become innovations that solve at scale. The thesis around the Coalition for Impact initiative is that a structured ecosystem increases the chances of successful entrepreneurs committed to impact, accessing capital and scaling their social and/or environmental solutions, resulting in more inclusive, healthy and positive impact for all of society.
If every entrepreneur committed to structuring a business model to solve social and environmental problems, receives adequate and qualified technical and financial support at each stage of their journey, they can advance their economically sustainable model and its delivery of measurable positive impact. The areas of underserved markets are innumerable – sanitation, clean energy, health, education, financial inclusion, housing. By supporting structured ecosystems for impact business we hope to ensure the appropriate infrastructure for the next leap in quantitative and qualitative growth in the pipeline impact business in Brazil.
Our experience with the Coalition for Impact in delivering robust technical and financial support and strong partnerships with public administration and academia to social entrepreneurs in these six Brazilian cities are helping us recommend the appropriate infrastructure for Brazil´s impact sector. Together, we can ignite a movement that not only addresses inequality but actively transforms it into a powerful driving force for social good and become a partner for countries with similar conditions.
What the World Can Learn from Brazil
In a world facing geopolitical shifts, economic crises, and increasing polarization, Brazil can offer some critical insights. The global north-south discussions highlight the need for more equitable approaches to development and philanthropy, and Brazil’s social innovation landscape provides valuable models.
- Decentralized and Community-Led Solutions: Many of Brazil’s most effective innovations emerge from local communities rather than top-down initiatives. This reflects a broader lesson in development: sustainable change happens when those closest to the problem are empowered to design and implement solutions.
- Cross-Sector Collaboration: Given the limitations of government action, Brazilian social innovation is often driven by partnerships between businesses, civil society, and academia. These multi-stakeholder approaches demonstrate how systemic change requires collaboration beyond traditional silos.
- Impact-Driven Business Models: Brazil has a growing ecosystem of impact businesses that blend financial sustainability with social and environmental objectives. This shift challenges the conventional boundaries between for-profit and non-profit sectors and aligns with global conversations about the future of capitalism.
- Resilience in the Face of Crisis: Whether responding to economic downturns, political instability, or environmental crises, Brazil’s social innovation sector has demonstrated remarkable adaptability—offering lessons for navigating uncertainty in a rapidly changing world.
Applying These Lessons to the Coalition for Impact
At the Coalition for Impact, these characteristics have deeply influenced our approach. We recognize that strengthening ecosystems for social impact businesses requires:
- Localization and Contextual Adaptation: Our local boards in six cities ensure that strategies are grounded in regional realities rather than imposed from a central authority. We have mobilized 12-20 board members in each city, ensuring that at least 50% are women and 30% are from different racial backgrounds. The commitment to diversity and inclusion has proved to be key for innovating, as well as show casing the equitable commitments to this agenda.
- Multi-Stakeholder Governance: Decision-making methodologies within the Coalition— such as consensus and delegation— have been a continuous exercise as an example of funding the local projects that the Board has approved. A continuous exercise of trust and accountability are at the heart of the relationship that we – the team at Instituto Cidadania Empresarial and secretariat of the Coalition have with the local coordination and Board.
- Bridging Local and Global Perspectives: By connecting Brazilian social innovation with international networks, we hope to create pathways for knowledge exchange, investment, and can aspire to cross-border collaboration. Participating in SIX´s Indaba, Wasan Network and exchanges with IAC Berlin, are nourishing the reflection process, tools and adaptations.
The possible Future of the Coalition for Impact
The need for strong, resilient social impact ecosystems is more urgent than ever. As the Coalition for Impact looks ahead, we are focused on sharing our methodology and ensuring the improvement of our model as an approach to complexity and innovation.
- Strengthening ecosystem building through philanthropy: To embed our impact within institutions, we are prioritizing policy engagement, long-term partnerships, and capacity-building programs that create structural support for social innovation.
- Adapting to Emerging Challenges: Recognizing that the social sector must be dynamic, we are investing in research, technology, and innovative financing mechanisms that will allow us to anticipate and respond to new challenges effectively. We have identified key partners as local and regional development banks that are operating new funding credit lines. We have also identified the opportunity to partner with public institutions that fund research and development and that are also creating specific funding programs to support impact entrepreneurs.
- Building a Legacy of Leadership: The Coalition is committed to fostering the next generation of leaders in social impact, ensuring that our work remains relevant and continues to evolve with the needs of the sector. We have invested in a Systemic Leadership Development Program offered to the board members of each of the cities and to our co-funders. It is an opportunity to strengthen the continuous education programs that help shift mind sets, offer tools for change management and a framework for monitoring, evaluation and learning.
By embedding resilience, adaptability, and collaboration at the core of our approach, the Coalition for Impact is not only future-proofing its model but also demonstrating how social innovation ecosystems can thrive in an uncertain world. Through these efforts, we aim to reinforce Brazil’s position as a global leader in social innovation and contribute meaningfully to the ongoing discourse on equitable development and systemic change.
