Venture Investment
Venture Philanthropy Meets Venture Capital
Innovate SOMO Funds is a pioneering venture fund structure that blends philanthropic giving with traditional venture capital. By deploying charitable capital alongside institutional investment, Innovate SOMO Funds aims to close startup funding gaps, especially for promising pre-seed and seed-stage tech founders in smaller metropolitan areas and rural communities across southern Missouri.
Empowering Investors To Do Good and Do Well
Innovate SOMO Funds represent a first-of-its-kind regional approach combining a non-profit fund funded by charitable contributions and a for-profit fund backed by limited partners, co-investing to make equity and revenue-based investments in startups across southern Missouri. The model empowers investors to maximize impact in the earliest, riskiest stages where startup funding is most scarce, especially in areas where traditional investment models often fall short.
By concentrating on startups within southern Missouri, Innovate SOMO Funds will support innovation in a range of locally important industry sectors including information technology, tech manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, and agriculture, and drive economic growth, and job creation where it’s needed most.
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