Impact Hub is a global community network and a shared platform that brings individuals together who have a vision and drive to make positive social changes through their businesses and innovations. A few weeks ago, we visited Impact HubvTaipei and as soon as we were there, we felt – “this feels very much like a close friend to Dream Impact!”. Impact Hub Taipei is the first B Corp Impact Hub in Asia. This impact community is mainly for impact entrepreneurs, activists, innovators, campaigners, artists, freelancers and professionals who want to take real action in driving positive social and environmental change.
Impact Hub Taipei has a lot of innovative ideas to build and strengthen its community. For instance, they have a “Do more of what makes you happy corner” where ‘hubbers’ can share their dreams and photos, chalkboard calendar so everyone knows the events around and account consultation service by another B Corp, Jia Wei & Co., CPAs.
Impact Hub also supports Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and has started Sustainable Entrepreneur Program in 2017. SDGs is a great framework to relate your work to social issues, it has included 17 goals and 169 targets. Sustainable Entrepreneur Program has provided six students with more resources and connections for their entrepreneurial projects with different sustainable development goals.
Apart from understanding Impact Hub Taipei, three hubbers with B Corp certificates including Teatalk, Pley School and Taiwan Good Fish also shared about their businesses and the reasons why they become B Corp.
Teatalk is a local tea seller in Taiwan and it is also known for driving social value by operating ethically environmentally as well as in their hiring. They would purchase carbon quotas from other countries to offset their carbon footprints, and plan to hire visually-impaired people and qualify them to become ‘tea and local cultures’ teacher to teach at their tea academy!
Pley School’s founder Ken, questioned the current educational system and has innovated a new way of learning. By gamification, his business encourages children to learn through issue-based games, for instance, children would be asked to be the president of a particular country and would have to work together with others to come up with solutions to solve social issues. Not only does this teach children problem-solving, but also to put them in situations where they’d have to work with others who may not agree with themselves, and through this, they would learn leadership, negotiation, as well as touching upon on my social issues and many more.
The last business we were connected with was Taiwan Good Fish, they sell sustainable seafood and leverages ecological ponds and techniques to fish in order to preserve the environment as well as habitats.