Trividend and BNP Paribas Fortis join forces to promote impactful entrepreneurship

BNP Paribas Fortis is injecting EUR 500,000 into Trividend, a Flemish fund that invests in employment-focused social enterprises. This is a pure impact investment that contributes directly to society. The participation enables the bank to provide even better support to social entrepreneurs in the future.

Social added value

Social entrepreneurs aim to solve a specific societal problem. “Visiting a bank branch is rarely their first step”, explains Wim Francx, a social enterprise consultant at BNP Paribas Fortis. "Often social enterprises cannot access traditional forms of financing. The result is often a financing mix. Several complementary players form an ecosystem with the same goal, namely, to create social added value. With our participation in Trividend, we are strengthening our position in this ecosystem in addition to increasing our visibility."

Impact prevails

Trividend solely invests in companies that are committed to making an impact with their activities first and foremost. “After profitability obviously, even though this is an important second requirement”, says Frederik Matthijs, who was appointed CEO at the beginning of this year. The investment fund selects its projects with the utmost care. "Before we start working with a social enterprise, we screen them very rigorously and extensively. After that, we continue to monitor every aspect very closely, from the figures to the social impact."

More people are given opportunities

One of the social enterprises in which Trividend has invested is Lichtwerk. They have developed a technology to break down instructions for very complex tasks in easy steps so that everyone can execute them. “This is a great example of how the workplace adapts to people, instead of the other way around”, says Frederik Matthijs. Two thirds of Trividend's investments go to companies that focus on social employment. The remainder is invested in circular companies and social innovation. "In addition, we offer advice and develop an active network for social entrepreneurs. Where they can meet with one another, learn from each other how best to tackle certain problems, or initiate a collaboration."

Exchanging expertise

Thanks to this capital injection, Trividend can make new investments. “We gain access to the broad network of BNP Paribas Fortis and their extensive expertise in various domains”, says Frederik Matthijs. “But it's a two-way exchange”, Wim Francx adds. "The tool that Trividend uses to quantify impact offers considerable added value, for example. As a bank, we are fully committed to social entrepreneurship as part of our sustainability strategy. By working closely together and setting up initiatives such as the Social Entrepreneurship Advisory Board, we can help more social enterprises make a difference."

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