We’re excited to announce new investments in Business Launchpad and Breadwinners, who join the Impetus portfolio as members of the Connect Fund. In addition to funding of £100K per annum for two years, our new portfolio partners will gain access to our world-class pro bono network and the expertise of our dedicated Investment team.

Both organisations bring innovative approaches to supporting young people into work, providing them with unique opportunities for on-the-job training, skill development, and career advancement.

We are thrilled to welcome Business Launchpad and Breadwinners to the Connect Fund. Their innovative models address some of the toughest challenges facing young people furthest from the labour market, offering practical, hands-on support that makes a real difference. By helping young people overcome systemic barriers, these organisations are paving the way for brighter futures, and we’re excited to support them strengthen their programmes and lay the organisational foundations for future growth.

Susannah Hardyman, CEO, Impetus

What is the Connect Fund?

Our research shows that young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are twice as likely as their better-off peers to be out of education, employment, or training (NEET) – and there is also clear data that shows young people from ethnic minority backgrounds* face unique barriers to employment.

Launched in 2022, the Connect Fund tackles these inequities, helping to close the employment gap for young people from ethnic minority and disadvantaged backgrounds while promoting systemic change toward a more equitable society.

Organisations which help young people to overcome disadvantage and discrimination in employment play a vital role in these efforts – and we’re here to help them build and scale effective, impact-led programmes.

Business Launchpad

Based in Tooting, London, Business Launchpad is an enterprise charity that equips aspiring entrepreneurs, most aged 16-30 and from the global majority*, with the mindset and skills they need to thrive in business. Through targeted support, interactive workshops, and comprehensive training programmes, they nurture self-efficacy and resilience, ambition, and a sense of professional belonging.

Business Launchpad doesn't treat young people as a problem to be fixed: it spots and harnesses the promise of every potential leader that walks through its doors. Ambitious to make a difference and with a ready-made community of local role models, Business Launchpad offers the opportunity to build an action-packed enterprise programme that enables young people to shape their own futures.

Sophie Manning, Investment Director, Impetus

With a staggering 71% of young people from the global majority* reporting some form of discrimination in the workplace, entrepreneurship is a promising avenue for young people facing labour market barriers. Business Launchpad’s programmes also foster skills that are crucial to work readiness more broadly.

Impetus will work alongside Business Launchpad to refine their enterprise model to ensure they’re delivering transferrable skills that empower young people to succeed across a variety of workplaces and businesses.

This funding provides a transformative opportunity that will enable Business Launchpad to strengthen our employability support for young people and deepen our impact, empowering more young entrepreneurs to overcome barriers and achieve their ambitions. This partnership with Impetus aligns perfectly with our mission to empower young people to realise their potential and build sustainable futures.

Felicia Mattis-Rome, CEO, Business Launchpad

Breadwinners

For young people from refugee and asylum-seeking backgrounds, barriers to employment can be immense, from legal work restrictions to a lack of qualifications favoured by UK employers.

Breadwinners addresses these challenges through real-world employment, training and mentoring opportunities by selling artisan organic bread across London and Brighton's best farmers markets and through wholesale for social and environmental-focused corporates, restaurants and cafes.

Breadwinners fills a critical gap in the sector by offering on-the-job training and mentoring to refugees and asylum-seekers, helping them build skills and confidence while fostering community connections. They provide a vital lifeline to one of the most underserved communities in the employment landscape, and we’re thrilled to welcome them to our portfolio.

Sonal Shenai, Investment Director, Impetus

Breadwinners’ three core programmes – Risers, Breadwinners, and Proofers – give young people the opportunity to gain work experience throughout their immigration journey. While young people wait for their asylum claim to be heard – during which they don’t have the right to work – Breadwinners provides them with weekly training and mentoring through the Risers programme, alongside voluntary work experience as market stall assistants. Once their refugee status is granted, they can progress into paid work, first as market stall managers on-site (Breadwinners) and then as managers on Breadwinners’ e-commerce platforms (Proofers).

Impetus will support Breadwinners to strengthen their organisational capacity and expand their reach.

We are thrilled to partner with Impetus to further our mission of supporting young people from refugee and asylum-seeking backgrounds into meaningful work. With Impetus's support and expertise, we can strengthen our programmes and reach even more young people, empowering them with the skills, confidence, and networks they need to build brighter futures. 

Martín Cosarinsky Campos, Managing Director, Breadwinners

Driving Impact

In addition to funding, we will work shoulder-to-shoulder with Business Launchpad’s and Breadwinners’ leaders to help them grow into organisations capable of transforming the lives of more young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Our partnerships with Business Launchpad and Breadwinners begin with our flagship Driving Impact workshops. These sessions will help define their missions, focus on outcomes, and refine their programmes to best serve the young people they support.

We look forward to working with these brilliant organisations to ensure meaningful and sustainable employment is within reach for all young people, regardless of background.

Read about our other portfolio partners.

*A note on language: Business Launchpad uses the term 'global majority' to refer to individuals who come from Black, Asian, mixed, or other ethnic backgrounds often referred to as ‘ethnic minorities’, who together comprise about 80% of the world’s population. ‘Global majority’ is often used in place of other terms including BAME (Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic), BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour), and ethnic minorities.

At Impetus, through our Connect Fund, we work with organisations that are working to close the employment gap faced by young people from ethnic minority backgrounds, particularly Black, Bangladeshi, and Pakistani young people in the UK, because the data shows these groups are facing the most significant barriers to employment. We recognise that language is important, and that others use terms such as 'global majority', 'racialised communities', or 'communities experiencing racial inequity', each with specific and important nuance. In the interests of using language that is familiar and widely understood by potential partners and broader stakeholders, we have decided to use 'ethnic minority backgrounds', but we acknowledge this is not perfect.