Entrepreneurs

There is no other bank like Barclays for the people who create and build businesses; our support for the entrepreneurial community goes beyond funding solutions, and includes expert advice and mentoring, leading insights, as well as access to essential networks. This commitment forms part of Barclays’ Citizenship agenda, and permeates across the group, from grass roots skills provision to product and thought leadership perspectives.

Barclays has a rich history, spanning more than three centuries, in supporting and driving innovation. Each year we support over 100,000 start-ups with nearly a third of these going on to export in their first 12 months of business. We have a relentless focus on pioneering innovation, and a commitment to fostering the emergence of new business and technologies today.

Barclays’ holistic approach is helping to establish a long-term pipeline of high growth businesses, ultimately driving job creation and economic growth at a local and national level. Since 2012, Barclays employees have volunteered more than 18,700 (18,710) hours to help deliver enterprise skills training in the communities in which we operate.

Our offering is uniquely based on our ability to help businesses no matter how large they grow, and our understanding of and support for the individuals behind them. Using our expertise to support progress in this way can make a powerful difference, and as such Barclays aims to be the partner of choice for people and organizations seeking to address social and economic challenges.

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Videos from this campaign

Content from this campaign

Innovation & Technology

Unreasonable Impact | Innovation: Sexy, But Not Always Right
For much of the past 25 years, I’ve dedicated my time to figuring out how mobile technology might help support positive social and environmental change in the developing world. During that time, I created FrontlineSMS, an open source software for grassroots organizations to distribute and collect information via text messages, and it was built from the ground up to reach global scale. Along the way, I spent time living and working in many communities where I both led and witnessed development projects firsthand. I’ve seen attempts at innovation go well, and I’ve seen others crash and burn.

Sustainable Development Goals

Unreasonable Impact | Modern Energy Could Mean the Difference Between Peace and Unrest
When we think about the things we take for granted, one of the most common is access to basic energy. Turning on a lamp so you can teach your children how to read, watching the evening news, or working into the night on your computer are all basic acts that most of us don’t even consider to be a privilege. Over 500 million people have a mobile phone without a place to charge it at home – a basic convenience needed to conduct commerce.

Supply Chain & the Circular Economy

Unreasonable Impact | Rescuing Old Clothes From Landfills by Turning Them Into New Fabric and Fuel
Jeplan envisions a circular world in which we take all used or unwanted personal belongings, recycle the materials, and then sell them as new products. Starting with cotton and polyester, this company is reimagining waste disposal, which reduces the use of petroleum and diminishes carbon emissions. Based in Japan, Jeplan has established collection points around the country in collaboration with major retail and apparel brands to gather discarded clothes. Then, Jeplan sells the final products back to these brands and their consumers.

Environment

Unreasonable Impact | India Faces a Massive Waste Crisis, But Not For Long
Banyan Nation is changing the way India recycles and thinks about waste management and sustainability by focusing on plastic. Currently, the quality of plastic recyclate is very poor. An award-winning company, Banyan Nation is building one of India’s first vertically integrated, formal recycling businesses by leveraging simple mobile technology applications. They aggregate informal sector collectors and innovative plastics recycling technology to create “Better Plastic” – good for the industry, society, and environment.

Energy

Unreasonable Impact | Meet the Company That Could Impact Two Billion Lives
Greenlight Planet designs, manufactures, distributes, and finances solar-powered home energy systems and appliances for the two billion people in Asia and Africa living without access to a reliable and affordable electrical grid. To date, the company has sold over six million solar-powered lanterns and home energy systems, impacting over 20 million people in over 50 countries. Founder and CEO Patrick Walsh shares how Greenlight Planet’s design, efficient engineering, and innovative distribution strategies can make dirty kerosene lanterns a thing of the past.

Innovation & Technology

Unreasonable Impact | An App For the New Era of Cloud Farming
Agri Info Design’s app, AgriBus-NAVI, is a simple GPS guidance system to mount on agricultural machinery, allowing farmers to create straight and evenly spaced plow lines on large land plots. Farmers who operate large machinery often struggle to navigate efficiently, leading to excessive fertilizer and pesticide use and wasted seeding. Through the use of this technology, Agri Info Design is laying the groundwork for “cloud farming” and enhanced agricultural productivity. Founder and CEO Yasuyuki Hamada shares his thoughts on how building IT systems for farming can create greater empathy between farmers and consumers and lead to the production of more nutritious crops.

Health & Healthcare

Unreasonable Impact | Harnessing Nature Through Biotechnology to Impact Food, Water, and Health
Richcore India develops and delivers biotechnology solutions that conserve food, water, and energy, in addition to improving health. They create animal origin free (AOF) proteins for pharmaceutical companies that manufacture medicines like insulin and vaccines. In fact, their solutions are already present in one in three vaccines and one in four insulin shots globally. Their various solutions are also suitable for industries as diverse as cosmetics, textiles, and dairy.

Environment

This Company is Creating a World Where Conserving Water is a Way of Life
Based in Singapore, Ecosoftt – Eco Solutions For Tomorrow, Today – specializes in decentralized management of water, wastewater, and environmental services for the developed and developing worlds. Their Water SMART Homes & Communities platform allows property owners and building managers to reduce their water footprint and waste by up to 50 percent, to recycle and reuse up to 80 percent of wastewater for non-potable purposes, and to discharge at least 20 percent of treated water in a way that protects Mother Nature. Ecosoftt also leads education programs focused on water, sanitation, livelihood and wellness for rural and marginalized communities.

Energy

Unreasonable Impact | The Startup That Can Deliver Us from the Age of Fossil Electricity
The World Health Organization attributes more than 4 million deaths each year to exposure to household stove smoke, especially in developing countries with high poverty rates. One Earth Designs developed the SolSource Solar Cooker, which offers an easy-to-use, off-grid cooking solution using only the power of the sun. CEO and Co-Founder Catlin Powers speaks about the power of coal and kerosene alternatives to reduce health risks, lessen harm done to the environment, and empower women.

Innovation & Technology

Ashok Vaswani on How to Make Innovation Culture "Stick"
“Culture is more important than spend,” says Ashok Vaswani, CEO of Barclays UK. “Ultimately, people who are excited by technology want permission to do things. If you can give them that permission, that’s when exciting things happen. And who has that authority? It has to start at the top. The role of senior management is to make sure that folks like me don’t hold them up or create trouble for them. My job is to make sure that people get out of the way.”

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