Impact investing is an increasing imperative for investors and being able to recognise scalable impact is key.
So what is impact investing and how can investors identify them? Here are some questions that should be answered prior to making an investment.
What is Responsible investing?
Responsible Investing considers deploying the power of capital for good. This power is cultivated to create a net positive impact on society.
While the spectrum of Impact investing is broad, Sprint has a clear vision on where we contribute. At Sprint, we consider Impact synonymous with other investment goals; not mutually exclusive to a highly competitive return. While ‘Responsible Investing’ is often classed as a stand alone category, Sprint strongly believes in integrating Impact into our overall investment thesis. This thesis has been embedded in how we make decisions from inception.
“Impact is at the core of every investment decision that we make at Sprint” – Llew Jury, Sprint Managing Partner
What makes an effective Impact investment?
This non-exhaustive list outlines three core pillars that Sprint considers when making effective investments for Impact.
- Alignment with founding team
A founding team with expansive and vision-aligned goals is non-negotiable. From improving hospitals productivity to avoiding pipe failures in the infrastructure, Sprint has invested in incredible founders who’s visions are helping us to build a better future. Sprint looks for founders who are driven by their ability to positively impact society. Explore them here.
- Alignment with other fund goals
At Sprint, we believe that investing for a better future shouldn’t mean compromising on return. In addition to impact, we seek to invest in companies that have a maximising potential for growth. If this aligns with your investing framework, register your interest for our ongoing Expansion Capital Fund.
3. Alignment with areas of chosen societal impact
Sprint has identified several core areas for impact that align with our team’s expertise. These industries have also been identified as large concerns for our future generations, and subsequent high growth potential. Our mandate currently focuses on solutions addressing aged care, energy, financial literacy, and the environment.
How is Sprint investing for impact to ‘build a better future’?
Sprint was founded on the basis of building a better future. More than a bold vision statement framing the orange wall in our office, this sentiment is deeply embedded into our culture and business model. Sprint is leading the way with an impressive Impact portfolio covering sustainability, ageing, water, energy and responsible finance. Following are some of the impressive impact investments Sprint has made:
Umps:
Meet Adam and Geoff. Sprint is supporting this impressive duo to help build a better future through our investment in Umps. Umps combines hardware and data-driven software to create a smart-home platform that helps older Australians remain safe, well and independent at home. Umps’ Impact is focused on increasing the safety and independence of older Australians by integrating its smart-home tech with a market-leading personal alarm. Learn more about how Umps is helping to keep our loved ones at home safer here.
VAPAR:
One of Sprint’s latest Expansion Capital Fund investments, VAPAR, is creating impact by helping to tackle the water scarcity crisis. VAPAR helps utilities eliminate unexpected pipe failures by building a data-driven way of implementing pipe maintenance and rehabilitation. Read more about Sprint’s investment into VAPAR founders Amanda Siqueira and Michelle Aguilar here.
Leakster:
Leakster Founder Sara Richardson leveraged her experience in engineering and design to create a company that addresses a serious environmental and utility problem. Founded in 2018, Leakster has developed the hardware and software to provide a ground-breaking water distribution condition monitoring solution that detects, classifies, and pin-points water distribution pipeline leaks – enabling water utilities to make more efficient asset management decisions.
MediStays:
MediStays is a social enterprise dedicated to supporting people on a medical journey. For people having to travel for medical care, the added complexity of finding a safe and suitable place to stay and arranging transport, car-parking and meals away from home can be overwhelming and stressful. Medistays addresses this by providing a digital booking platform for medical accommodation bookings and complementary services such as medical equipment, prescriptions and groceries. Learn more about how Sprint is supporting MediStays to build a better future here.
YouPay:
YouPay founder Matt Holme is passionate about increasing financial wellness, and has fittingly developed a product that prevents bad debt. YouPay was developed to bring to life a powerful idea that stemmed from years of building thousands of ecommerce websites: there needs to be a debt-free and secure way to share the shopping cart with an external payer. In certain categories of shoppers (think children), they are commonly not the payer. Goodbye handing over card details… Read more here.
Where can you invest in scalable impact investments?
Read something that peaked your interest? If you’re interested in building a better future with Sprint, head to our investor page to learn more.
If you’re an institutional investor or family office, please reach out to our Head of Investor Relations, Craig Hobart for a private briefing on Sprint’s Impact Investing.
