Enviu’s venture-building power is now available to the market: Powered by Enviu is solving sustainability challenges as-a-service

Impact venture building studio Enviu has extended its business with an as-a-service innovation agency, called Powered by Enviu. Michiel Elich and Ankie van Wersch-Lenders have stepped aside as the MDs of Enviu Foundation, to lead this new arm of the Enviu Group. Powered by Enviu helps organizations to build circular and inclusive business models and ventures. Supporting the transition to futureproof business with (net) positive impact on society. The agency will use the proven methodology of the Foundation, applying Enviu's unique skills and experience to other organizations to realize fundamental change. As they step aside as the Managing Directors of Enviu Foundation, the new management team — comprising Paul van der Linden and Dieuwertje Nelissen will advance Enviu Foundation’s venture-building studio.   

I am excited to see what will happen if we start applying broadly all the lessons, failures, methodology, and experience we have gathered over 19 years of venturing with Enviu Foundation. Combining the innovative and entrepreneurial ingredients of Enviu with the reach and scaling capacity of companies could be the perfect recipe for fundamentally changing our economy to a people- and planet-positive one. And I am really looking forward to that.  Michiel Elich, CEO of Powered by Enviu. 

We, at Enviu, experimented extensively with methodologies, programmatic approaches, partners, collaborations, joint ventures, and replication. As a result, we have clear domains, offices, methodologies, and approaches. Now, it is time to go for maximum impact and acceleration. We are playing to our strengths and planning our international growth around them." — Dieuwertje Nelissen, Chief Program Officer, Enviu Foundation 

Solving fundamental sustainability challenges

Over the past years, Enviu kept receiving queries from other companies and institutions, with the compelling narrative: ‘We have a fundamental sustainability challenge, but don't know how to solve it in a commercially viable way. We have the responsibility and commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals. However, we don't know how to make it happen.’ 

Michiel and Ankie saw the opportunity in this conundrum: Enviu can accelerate its impact by supporting companies to go from negative to positive societal impact. The goal is to combine the entrepreneurial power of an impact venture studio with the powerful resources and scale of large organizations.  

Moving from program-building to sustainable business modelling

The main distinction between Enviu Foundation and Powered by Enviu is for whom we are creating solutions, and who is deciding the problem. Is Enviu Foundation identifying key issues in a system and building a relevant program to solve this, or are we helping someone else solve their problem?  

Enviu Foundation builds ventures by focusing on specific problems that catalyze markets and systems to change.   

Powered by Enviu, on the other hand, is a new offering that brings Enviu's knowledge, skills, methodology, and team into other forward-thinking companies, to support their transition to circular models and a (net) positive impact. That is the power the new kid on the block is offering. 

About Powered by Enviu 

Powered by Enviu is an innovation agency that helps companies transition to a circular business model. The aim is to make a (net) positive contribution to people and society. We design, validate and build disruptive, sustainable business models for circular and fair chains.r chains.

Powered by Enviu is a spin-off of the foundation Enviu, an impact venture-building studio with 19 years of experience in building impact-driven innovations and startups in four continents. Enviu developed its own methodology and network to successfully set up impact-driven companies. Enviu has founded over 2han 25 companies through its teams in India, Kenya, Indonesia and the Netherlands. With Powered by Enviu we bring this experience, network and methodology to organizations that want to make the transition to a circular business model.

Powered by Enviu is led by Ankie van Wersch-Lenders and Michiel Elich, both former directors of the Enviu Foundation with 10+ years of experience in strategy and transformation consultancy.

For more information: www.poweredbyenviu.com

About Enviu Pressroom

We believe in an economy that serves people and planet. And in the power of impact-driven entrepreneurship to get us there. Together with partners we build companies that address social & environmental issues and drive failing markets towards a new normal. We build world changing companies.

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