Wim Vermeulen
Piet Colruyt creates impact with the 5 I's.
Piet Colruyt is an architect and an impact investor. He started as an impact investor when he was 40 years old and found himself asking what his role was in this world. He saw the divide between Profit First and Impact First and decided to bridge the gap.
His criteria to invest are, what he calls the 5 I's:
1. Impact: it's about creating an impact more than profit
2. Integrated model: he is not into companies that make money and do good with part of the profit, he wants to see an integrated model: the more turnover, the more impact.
3. Investments, not philanthropy: he wants to invest his money, not give it away because if the investments work out, he gets his money back and can use it to create more impact.
4. Innovation: his role is to look for the more risky new social innovations
5. Inspiring: the projects he invests in must be inspiring, so more of his peers follow his path.
