Driving Impact Venture Action (DIVA) was createdas a not-for-profit entity to partner with corporations and assist them in overcoming the pioneer gap to corporate impact venturing. A new WBCSD case study presents the lessons learned since DIVA’s inception in 2015. 

To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the world needs profitable business solutions capable of attracting commercial capital to grow and deliver impact at scale. Large corporations are uniquely positioned to develop such businesses and DIVA’s experience to date suggests that there is great potential in “corporate impact venturing.”

Large corporations are lining up to co-develop impact ventures, and impact investors are ready to allocate capital to opportunities that are sufficiently mature. However, there is one important gap that remains to be filled: philanthropic support to mature the DIVA organization, expand the partnership base, and engage in more early-stage venture development projects.