High-Impact Entrepreneurship

Co. Exist profiled “6 Companies That Are Growing Rapidly While Doing Good”, including Lumni, a social investment company founded by Endeavor Entrepreneur Felipe Vergara.

Writes Ariel Schwartz,

Sometimes, social responsibility is sacrificed in the name of keeping companies afloat. But these six companies, dubbed Rockstars of the New Economy by B Lab, have achieved three to 100 times revenue or job growth while maintaining a high environmental and social impact.

On Lumni:

Lumni, a company operating in Chile, Colombia, Mexico and the U.S., “creates funds that invest in the human capital of low-income students,” according to founder and CEO Felipe Vergara. The company’s social investment funds invest in college students, and in return, the students commit to paying back a fixed portion of their income for six months after they graduate (they don’t have to pay if they’re unemployed). Over the last five years, Lumni grew from $1.5 million in assets under management to $25 million. In 2011, it reached 2,500 students. Lumni USA recently financed its first class of American students.

Lumni founder Felipe Vergara is a former professor and serial entrepreneur, highly dedicated to education. In 2010 Lumni pledged, as part of a Clinton Global Initiative commitment, to provide 10,000 students in Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and the U.S. with access to financing for higher education over the next five years. His company has been featured in The Economist as an innovator in education financing. He has also co-founded Primera Languages for Business, a top provider of language and cultural education in a business context. Felipe has received support from Endeavor staff, mentors, and board members in every country where Lumni does business.