Shaping Impact Group Research
Investment Thesis
Shaping Impact Group is a Brussels-based impact venture capital firm that backs early-growth-stage, tech-enabled ventures building a more inclusive, fair, and safe society. The firm applies conventional VC growth discipline to impact-first businesses, on the belief that lasting social impact comes from building resilient, high-performing companies rather than from grant- or donation-first models. Its Theory of Change targets improving equal opportunities for 1 million people to participate meaningfully in society, and every prospective investment must clear four gatekeeper questions: VC fit, alignment with the Theory of Change, whether impact and business model move in lockstep, and whether there are already signs of systemic momentum in the sector.
Sector Focus
The portfolio spans several thematic clusters rather than a single vertical: employment and labor-market inclusion (staffing and upskilling for newcomers and jobseekers), financial inclusion and debt prevention, elder and dementia care, family and human-rights legal tools, education and impact-measurement tooling, online safety (deepfake/identity-fraud detection), AI infrastructure and governance, and accessible culture (live-event ticketing). The through-line across the portfolio is a scalable, technology-enabled model paired with genuine human connection.
Stage Focus
Shaping Impact invests at the early-growth stage and explicitly does not write seed capital. Its current vehicle, SI3 Fund, backs companies with a working product and initial commercial traction rather than pre-product ideas.
Check Size
Typical investment is €250,000 to €1.5 million per company (SI3 Fund ticket size starts at €250,000), sized to the venture's growth needs rather than a fixed check.
Lead Tendency
Recent disclosed rounds show the firm co-investing rather than leading: it invested in Heroyam's raise alongside Rabobank, and in Tickets for Good's €4.5M round alongside NPIF II – Mercia Ventures, Finance Yorkshire, Leansquare, and private investors. This points to a syndicate/follow posture rather than a consistent lead investor role.
Recent Activity
The firm closed 2025 with 12 SI3 portfolio companies (FroggyTalk, Monny, and Smart Symbols joined that year) and €5.49M of SI3 capital deployed, reaching 122,620 people across 5 SDGs. In 2026 it added Tickets for Good (September) and Heroyam (mid-year) to the portfolio, and the team is preparing to launch a fourth vehicle, SI4 Fund, building on SI2 Fund (2012, founded by Piet Colruyt), SI3 Fund, and the Netherlands-focused INZET healthcare fund.
Portfolio Highlights
Active portfolio companies span Maurice & Nora (non-medical senior care), Justice42 (online divorce/family mediation), Spacehive (civic-project crowdfunding), HerFuture (AI matching for female students and employers), Tickets for Good (accessible live-event ticketing), Heroyam (staffing agency for newcomers, top-1% B Corp), Monny (AI personal-finance assistant), Welcome App (newcomer integration platform), Deeploy (AI model governance), We Are Digital (digital/financial upskilling), Plinkr (debt-prevention platform), Duck Duck Goose (deepfake/identity-fraud detection), BlueSquare (public-health data systems), Inuka (digital mental-health coaching), SmartSymbols (tools for special-education teachers), FroggyTalk (connectivity for the African diaspora), Relish (products for people with dementia and their carers), AndWider (human-rights supply-chain due diligence), and Reveal (support for jobseekers facing major barriers). Exits/acquisitions to date include FitzMe, Helpper, and Faircasso, and portfolio company Wobby (AI data-analytics) was acquired by HCLSoftware/Actian.
Team
- Jamy Goewie, General Partner — social entrepreneur with Ashoka and European Venture Philanthropy Association background
- Dave Dirks, General Partner — 25+ years in M&A, VC and entrepreneurship, 30+ prior investments
- Lisa Brouwer, Principal — 10+ years across VC, PE and venture building
- Ali Dreidi, Principal — CFA charterholder, private equity and M&A background across US/Europe/MENA
- Selim Vanbecelaere, Venture Partner — ex-EY Strategy and Transactions, CFA charterholder
- Joke Dehond, Venture Partner — former tech entrepreneur, business angel and founder coach
- David Mwasha, Investment Associate — Brussels-based, joined 2022
- Nino Bellengé, Principal, INZET — leads the Netherlands healthcare/wellbeing fund
- Gunther Volkaert, Finance & Administration Manager — since 2018
- Baukje Stam, Impact Advisor — sociologist and strategic-impact advisor
- Caroline Cornil, Brand & Communication Designer — freelance design lead for the firm's brand
Decision Process
Investment decisions run through the general partner / principal / venture partner group described above (a partnership structure), with a stated end-to-end timeline of roughly 3 months from first conversation through due diligence and contracting.
Founder Preferences
The firm looks for tech-driven ventures with a clear mission, founders combining ambition with empathy, and business models capable of scaling systemic impact. It explicitly avoids ideas without a working product, donation- or grant-first models, and impact claims without a clear theory of change.
Geographic Focus
Primarily Western Europe with a stated focus on the Benelux (offices in Brussels and Rotterdam); INZET is Netherlands-specific. The firm will consider ventures outside Europe if the mission fit is strong, per its funding FAQ.