Celebrating 10 Years of Impact Hub Bergen

Gabriela Gandel, Executive Director of the Impact Hub Network

We are delighted to celebrate 10 years of Impact Hub Bergen! Their endeavor over the past decade has made an incredible impact on the local community of entrepreneurs, innovations and changemakers. Today, their work - alongside that of our global community of Impact Hubs - is more important than ever to create a sustainable, inclusive and just society.

Today’s unprecedented health crisis has highlighted deeper issues around inequality and damage to the environment — but it has also created an opportunity for us to build back better. 

We have a once in a lifetime chance to rebuild our economy with people and the planet at the center. It is time for a greener, fairer world for all.

Small and medium businesses (SMEs) are leading the way towards this new world order. SMEs represent 50% of global jobs, and one in three startups are dedicated to positive social or environmental change. We call these startups with a mission ‘impact enterprises’. In addition to their positive impact and innovation, they are also a hotbed for inclusion efforts: 38% are led by women compared to just 3% of FTSE 100 companies.

We have spent the last 15 years working with impact entrepreneurs that are building a more just and sustainable world — and have connected them through a 16,500 strong network spanning 59 countries. 

Our global community and support programs have shown us how the post-pandemic world can address the two most urgent global issues of our time: inequality and climate change. 

MeetDoctor, for example, is using video technology to match doctors with underserved patients to tackle inequality highlighted by COVID-19; while Syzygy Plasmonics is revolutionizing the industrial gas, chemical, and energy industries to reduce environmental harm.

But even amidst today’s overlapping crises, governments are not prioritizing solutions like these and changemakers are struggling to access the financial and non-financial support they need to make change.

Impact Hub is committed to providing this critical support. Alongside lobbying for better policies and funding, we make education and resources accessible to impact ventures around the world — from running some of the biggest online hackathons in history and offering a free Global Connect membership, to providing online programs like the New Economy Booster and Close the Gap.

Now is the time to support these entrepreneurs’ critical work. Strong cross-sector collaboration, funding and joint action are how we will accelerate solutions and reach the impact that the world needs to see. 

We’re glad to make impact at scale happen together with the inspiring team of Impact Hub Bergen.