The 29th of January the Danish nonprofit organization INDEX: Design to Improve Life will launch a new Venture Capital with a dedicated focus on life-improving design. The fund is created in cooperation with Dansk OTC and goes under the name Danish Ventures – Investing in Design to improve Life. Over the coming months, the fund will raise 300 million DKK (€40 million) which will constitute the capital for investments.
INDEX: Design to Improve Life was created in 2002 as a nonprofit organization that facilitates a large-scale design award. The goal of the organization is to attract foreign investors and entrepreneurs while inspiring life improving innovations in design. With a winning price of €500.000, INDEX: Award is the biggest design award in the world.
“Our vision has always been to use design to solve global challenges in a sustainable way. With the fund, we can do our small part to move the world forward, and help designers with funding to make a real positive difference by leveraging capital from Danish investors to realize design solutions globally” Says Kigge Hvid, CEO of INDEX: Design to Improve life.
Improving life and securing growth
INDEX currently receives 30 to 50 percent of their funding from The Danish Ministry of Business and Growth. The goal of the foundation is therefore described as 100% commercial, but with the incorporated social benefit of investing in life-improving design.
The fund will seek to further support the most commercially promising participants of the INDEX: award. The Danish Ministry of Business and Growth hopes that this new offer will incentivize innovation and thereby lead to growth in the Danish marked. This additional aspect will start as a part of INDEX: Award 2017.
The fund’s board of directors will consist of experienced entrepreneurs and investors. Prominent figures such as Tine Thygesen, Jens Wittrup Willumsen, and Flemming Lindeløv have currently been confirmed as board members.
