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14 May 2018 – Articles

Danske Bank seeks to help entrepreneurs grow their impact on society

A new digital hub powered by Danske Bank is set to help Nordic entrepreneurs grow their societal impact.

In an attempt to help purpose-driven start-ups maximize their impact, we are launching a new digital hub named +impact.

The new hub is the first step in a wider Danske Bank initiative seeking to create a connected eco-system consisting of purpose-driven start-ups, expert volunteers, corporates and investors.

We wish to use our role as a leading financial partner to address some of the challenges that we face in society. One of our priorities is to build relevant initiatives with which we can help entrepreneurs to grow their positive impact on society.

Jeanette Fangel Løgstrup

Senior Executive Vice President and Head of Societal Impact and Sustainability

A new team in the bank, Growth & Impact, will be responsible for the initiative and it will be headed by Klavs Hjort, Senior Vice President and now also Head of Growth & Impact.

Potential to scale
The new initiative draws upon the experience from our platform The Hub, which successfully brings together start-ups with employees and investors.

Initially, the +impact hub is a mentor matchmaking platform meaning that its purpose is to bring together purpose-driven start-ups with mentors able to solve their challenges.

Specifically, the +impact hub focuses on companies that address one or more of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), and which have the potential to scale and become even more sustainable, also from a business perspective. Sustainable impact comes from a sustainable business model.

A value-adding hub
Examples include the Copenhagen-based start-up Tiimo that helps children with ADHD, autism and other diagnoses via an app for smartwatches and smartphones.

“As an impact start-up, we sometimes have specific needs that differ somewhat from traditional start-ups. Accordingly, we see that it can add value that Danske Bank is launching a new hub dedicated to us and our impact colleagues.”

- Helene Nørlem, partner and co-founder of Tiimo

Addressing the needs
Many of the entrepreneurs in question are highly successful already. However, a number of key challenges specific for purpose-driven start-ups have been identified by us in co-operation with Rainmaking:

  • Generally, the companies have a need for funding, and need access to mentors and experts. 
  • Furthermore, some struggle to find the right business model and some lack business skills.
  • In addition to that, there is a need for awareness and an ecosystem, and the entrepreneurs need access to emerging markets.

Collaborative effort
Accordingly, we have set out to find out how to address these needs and thus enable the entrepreneurs to grow their impact.

Besides the new digital platform just launched, the bank is going to set up an accelerator programme to help the companies grow and increase their impact. we  also plan to facilitate events in order to match companies with potential investors.

“We realise that we will not be able to do this all on our own. We will engage with partners in a collaborative effort to drive this ambition forward,” says Klavs Hjort, Head of Growth & Impact in Danske Bank.

Facts

+impact is a free, cross-Nordic digital platform on which purpose-driven start-ups share their challenges with experts and get the advice they need for free. +impact is based on a strategic partnership between Danske Bank and Rainmaking.

  • 40+ Nordic start-ups (which is roughly 10% of the total Nordic impact ecosystem)
  • 50+ challenges across Business Development, Software Development, Marketing, Funding and Legal affairs
  • Experts from among others Boston Consulting Group, Implement, E&Y, PA Consulting, IBM and Danske Bank

The hub is a free-of-charge community platform tailored to the needs of growth start-ups. Via the platform, start-ups can get assistance with their recruitment of talent, connection with investors and access best practice tools (e.g. employment contract, pitch deck).

  • 4000+ Nordic start-ups
  • 950+ Nordic start-up jobs
  • 300+ investor connections


Rainmaking is a global cooperative of entrepreneurs that create positive change through entrepreneurship. We are a collective of serial entrepreneurs, ex-corporate executives, expert trainers and investors. Partner with us to gain the mindset, skills and confidence to ideate, launch and scale new business.


Danske Bank is a Nordic universal bank with strong local roots and bridges to the rest of the world. For 150 years, we have helped people and businesses in the Nordics realise their ambitions. Today, we serve personal, business and institutional customers and in addition to banking services, we offer life insurance and pension, mortgage credit, wealth management, real estate and leasing services.