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London-based \u2018social impact\u2019 accelerator, Bethnal Green Ventures<\/a>, which backs pre-seed startups with ideas for\u00a0using tech to tackle social and\/or environmental problems, has taken \u00a31.3 million in funding from three social tech and innovation funders: Big Society Capital, Nominet Trust and Nesta.<\/p>\n BVG says it\u2019s intention with the new raise, its third, is to support social impact startups through more of their first steps \u2014 ideally up to seed stage in future, not just helping teams accelerate early stage\u00a0\u2018tech for good\u2019 ideas.<\/p>\n At this point BVG\u00a0has\u00a0invested a total of \u00a31.4M in 86 startups since\u00a0first opening for applications back in March 2012. Of those, it says 56 companies are still active, with its\u00a0portfolio having collectively raised\u00a0more than \u00a323M in further funding, and the businesses having an estimated 6.5 million people using\u00a0their products and services.<\/p>\n The fund\u2019s\u00a0current model combines a twice-yearly, 12-week accelerator program in which\u00a0chosen startups receive a\u00a0\u00a320,000 investment (in exchange for 6% equity), along with mentoring and\u00a0access to co-working space in London.<\/p>\n Last year it\u00a0also expanded to be able to offer\u00a0a further \u00a350k to startups in the\u00a0cohort. But it\u2019s\u00a0evidently hoping\u00a0to go a stage further still \u2014\u00a0aiming to create a seed\u00a0fund to support more companies to the next stage.<\/p>\n It says the\u00a0funding it\u2019s taking now\u00a0will be used to develop the planned \u201clater stage impact investment products\u201d, as well as for expanding its\u00a0operations and building further partnerships \u2014 presumably to help it raise the capital for the hoped for seed fund.<\/p>\n A BVG spokeswoman confirmed it will also have \u201cmore capacity\u201d to do investments up to \u00a350k in its cohort startups, \u201cusually in the form of a convertible note\u201d. She said\u00a0the plan is to do\u00a020 accelerator stage investments this year, plus 10 to 12 follow on investments.<\/p>\n Commenting on the raise in a statement,\u00a0BGV CEO Paul Miller, added: \u201cWe\u2019ve proved our accelerator model works, but it\u2019s not enough on its own. Startups require ongoing support and funding to scale up their operations, this is especially true for startups focused on social impact. Last year we expanded our offer by being able to invest up to \u00a350,000 in great teams after the accelerator stage. This year we\u2019re planning a fund to be able to back alumni and other tech for good ventures with next stage capital. This will help to plug a notable hole in seed-stage impact investment available to startups in the tech for good space.\u201d<\/p>\n BVG\u2019s spokeswoman said that when it comes to the social impact funding space it\u2019s \u201coften\u201d the lead investor role that\u2019s missing. \u201cAngels are great and really plugging a gap but someone needs to set the terms, and we feel we can do that, especially in our role as an impact investor,\u201d she told us.<\/p>\n In terms of which \u2018tech for good\u2019 early stage startups face the biggest\u00a0funding gap challenge, she said it\u2019s a problem across the board\u00a0but also noted it can be more of an issue for those with\u00a0\u201clarge slow moving customers\u201d \u2014 such as local authorities or the UK\u2019s National health Service \u2014 or else those with \u201cvulnerable users requiring a responsible approach to growth\u201d.<\/p>\n The fund\u2019s\u00a0broad themes\u00a0within its \u2018social impact\u2019 mission remain health, education, sustainability and democracy. But the spokeswoman said it\u2019s also working with a few partners to target some specific areas.<\/p>\n \u201cFor example we\u2019re looking at startups targeting the gig economy and ways to improve prospects for low paid workers. We\u2019re also interested in solutions for young people facing multiple disadvantages,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n One BVG portfolio company we covered recently\u00a0is Fairphone<\/a>: a European smartphone\u00a0startup that\u2019s created a modular phone design aimed at encouraging users to hold onto the same device for longer \u2014 thereby reducing the environmental impact associated with owning a smartphone.<\/p>\n