Capital & instruments

Who funds work inclusion — and how

The investors, funds and public schemes that finance companies getting excluded people into work, the instruments they use, and how they measure success.

Three ways money reaches inclusion

Equity and venture capital

Investors buy shares in companies whose business model creates jobs — such as auticon — and expect both impact and a financial return.

Outcome contracts

An investor funds a programme up front, and the public or private payer only pays if agreed results — such as people in work — are reached.

Grants and public schemes

Non-repayable support for early or non-profit work, such as NAV's grant for social entrepreneurs.

Investors and schemes

A selection of investors and schemes that fund work inclusion, with a Nordic focus.

Social investor

Ferd Sosiale Entreprenører

Norway

The social-investment arm of the Norwegian family office Ferd. At the end of 2025 it had 10 direct investments, 5 fund investments and 4 outcome contracts. Through the 2023 merger it took a 47.7% stake in auticon, and it reports that its work-inclusion portfolio companies gave jobs to 1,770 people from outside the labour market in 2023.

Sources (3)
  1. Ferd Annual Report 2025 — Social Entrepreneurs — Ferd, 2026-03
  2. Investeringer med effekt — Ferd, 2024-06
  3. Creating a world-leading employer for people with autism — Ferd, 2023-06
Website ↗
Impact fund

Den Sociale Kapitalfond

Denmark · Size: DKK 670m (2024)

A Danish impact fund that invests in small and medium-sized companies able to create jobs for vulnerable people. Its second fund closed at DKK 670m in 2024, with investors including the EIF, Novo Nordisk Fonden and Nordea-fonden. It reports that 22.5% of employees in its portfolio companies came from the edge of the labour market.

Sources (1)
  1. Den Sociale Kapitalfond rejser rekordfond på 670 millioner — Den Sociale Kapitalfond, 2024-12
Website ↗
Impact fund

Ananda Impact Ventures

Germany · Size: €108m (2024)

A Munich venture fund investing in early-stage impact tech. Its fourth fund is €108m, and the managers' share of profits depends on the portfolio meeting its impact targets. auticon is in its portfolio.

Sources (3)
  1. Ananda Impact Report 2024 — Introduction — Ananda Impact Ventures, 2025-01
  2. Ananda Impact Report 2024 — Our impact termsheet — Ananda Impact Ventures, 2025-01
  3. auticon and Unicus join forces — auticon, 2023-06
Website ↗
Impact fund

Autism Impact Fund

United States · Size: US$60m (2024)

A US fund that closed at $60m in 2024 to invest in companies serving autistic people, including employment. auticon is in its portfolio and Ferd is one of its investors.

Sources (1)
  1. Autism Impact Fund closes $60M fund — TechCrunch, 2024-04
Website ↗
Investor network

Impact StartUp

Norway · Size: NOK 30m (2025)

A Norwegian investment collective backed by Ferd Sosiale Entreprenører and others, planning to invest NOK 30m in 30 early-stage impact companies.

Sources (1)
  1. Vårt investeringsfellesskap — Impact StartUp, 2025-08
Website ↗

Paying for results: outcome contracts in Norway

Norway's first outcome contract was signed in Lier in 2019. In the Fremtind–lyk-z contract, Ferd pays up front for courses that help young people on disability benefits into school or work, and the insurer Fremtind's payment depends on measurable results. Ferd describes it as, as far as it knows, Norway's first contract of this kind between a social investor and a private company.

Sources (2)
  1. In depth: Ferd SE on driving social innovation in Norway — Impact Investor, 2025-06
  2. Banebrytende avtale for å redusere antall uføre — Ferd, 2024-08

What the evidence says

The UK's Mental Health and Employment Partnership used outcome contracts to fund Individual Placement and Support for people with mental health conditions or learning disabilities. Oxford's Government Outcomes Lab found that a third of engaged participants (33%) started a job and 55% of them kept it for at least 13 weeks, and that each extra £1,000 of outcome payments made a job start 21% more likely and 17% faster.

Sources (1)
  1. Mental Health and Employment Partnership — final evaluation report — Government Outcomes Lab, University of Oxford (for DCMS), 2025-08

How success is measured

Impact investors judge inclusion businesses on both impact and return. These are the tools you'll meet most often.

IRIS+ OI4038

A standard metric that counts permanent employees with disabilities — simple and comparable across companies.

GIIN — IRIS+ ↗

Five dimensions of impact

What changes, for whom, how much, what the company contributed, and the risk that impact falls short.

GIIN — IRIS+ ↗

Impact-linked carry

At Ananda, fund managers earn no share of profits unless at least 60% of the portfolio's impact targets are reached.

Ananda Impact Ventures ↗

InkludX's four lenses

Our venture profiles use impact, commercial health, scale and honesty about setbacks.

See the venture profiles →

Building an inclusion business?

See how other inclusion companies developed — and what made them grow or stall — before you raise money.

See the venture profilesNAV's grant for social entrepreneurs ↗