Capital for Good

Three funders, three completely different routes to capital, one honest conversation about what actually works for early-stage, mission-driven founders. Impact angel investment, catalytic climate loans, R&D tax relief and grants — the options most founders never hear about, explained by people who live it every day.

The panellists

Jem Stein spent a decade building a social enterprise that gave bikes to refugees, scaling it to £2.5m in revenue. Along the way, he kept meeting brilliant founders from underrepresented backgrounds who couldn't get funded — not because their ideas were weak, but because they didn't fit the VC mould. That frustration led him to launch Daring Capital, an impact angel syndicate that has since put over £2.5m into purpose-driven businesses, with 90%+ going to female-founded ventures.

Hugh Knowles ran Friends of the Earth as co-CEO for four years, then asked a simple question: if the climate crisis needs local, community-led solutions, why does almost all climate finance go to massive infrastructure projects? The answer was — nobody was offering affordable, flexible capital to the ventures that actually create livelihoods and cut costs for ordinary people. So he co-founded Brightwild Ventures to do exactly that, providing low-cost catalytic loans where traditional VC and debt models don't reach.

Hannad Hussein co-founded Walmer Group after seeing first hand the difficult of accessing traditional capital, and how there was very few resources available to those without privileged networks. Walmer is now one of the UK's go-to specialists in R&D tax relief, innovation grants, and advance loans. And as someone who grew up in Bristol, he's keen to see the community grow to it's potential. 

Facilitated by Dhevesh Mewawalla, Director at Tech4Good South West and Venture Partner at Bethnal Green Ventures. 

What you'll learn

How each panellist's journey led them to rethink how capital reaches impact founders. The real differences between angel investment, catalytic loans, and government-backed funding — and which fits your stage. What funders look for beyond the deck. And practical steps to access capital without giving up your mission.

Attendance is free for members, please write to hello@tech4goodsouthwest.org if you'd like to learn more about membership.