Innovation Edge

Innovation Edge is an innovation catalyst and social impact investor.

We take a hands-on approach to supporting unconventional ideas that aim to transform early life experiences for children, aged 0 to 6, living in poverty.

OUR APPROACH

We believe that truly transformative solutions to large-scale problems are created when very different people are brought together to make unusual connections to each other and to ideas.

We act as a catalytic connector and provide financial, strategic and implementation support to individuals, non-profit and for-profit organisations from any field of expertise, to affect meaningful change for young children. We do this by:

1. Connecting for innovation
   We connect people with diverse interests and expertise to contribute to the development of innovation.
   We also make connections between disparate concepts and across geographic and sectoral borders.
   Experience has shown that it is the combination of our deep understanding of social and systemic challenges combined with broad cross-sectoral engagement that sparks innovation.
2. Enabling innovation
   Our understanding of early years challenges in South Africa enables us to source, co-create and pivot inventive solutions that are relevant and scalable.
   We provide strategic, financial and hands-on support from ideation to proof of concept (POC), and actively experiment with multiple pathways to scale.
3. Communicating innovation
   We share insights on innovation products and processes to contribute to a collective understanding of what has and has not worked.
   We also actively seek opportunities to communicate the importance of positive early life experiences to influence perspective and drive behaviour change.

OUR FOCUS AREAS

Our investment areas are focused on enabling the type of early life experiences that children need to thrive:

Daily Brain-Building Interactions
A child who has daily brain-building interactions right from birth develops strong learning foundations

Quality Preschool Programmes
A child who attends a quality preschool programme for at least 2 years performs better at school

Early Health Care & Nutrition
A child who receives nourishing food and good healthcare is able to grow to their full potential

Safety and Security
A child who feels safe and is protected from toxic levels of stress is free to thrive