#Entrepreneurs — 08.11.2017

Today's Elite Entrepreneurs: Searching For Positive Impact

BNP Paribas Wealth Management’s 4th edition of the Global Entrepreneur Report demonstrates an increased commitment from Elite Entrepreneurs to generate positive impact.

The 2018 Global Entrepreneur Report has revealed that 39% of Elite Entrepreneurs now consider ‘positive impact’ to be core to how they assess business performance, compared to 10% two years ago. This significant increase clearly demonstrates a shift in the entrepreneur’s mindset, and this across all regions.

Over the past 12 months, the concept of positive impact, which consists in ensuring that their business, investments and personal practices to make the world better, has moved up the agenda for entrepreneurs. The report, which polled over 2,700 multimillionaire entrepreneurs in 22 countries handling a total wealth of USD 36 Billion, highlighted that:

55% have committed a proportion of their wealth to achieving socially-responsible outcomes.

80% believe that entrepreneurship is the best way to generate a global or local impact in particular relating to help safeguard the environment (with 53% in China). In Europe, clean energy is the most popular cause (35%), while in the US and the Middle East, job creation ranks top of the impact agenda (36% and 40%).

Elite Entrepreneurs anticipate significant increases in their future use of investment funds (34%), start-up financing (34%), private equity (32%), equity funding (32%) and impact investing (29%).

“There is a rapid change of mindset, impacting the ways Elite Entrepreneurs invest their wealth. We recently broke the bar of €10 billion invested in responsible investments, which has grown tenfold in the past 6 years. This clearly demonstrates the growing appetite from our clients for these types of strategies.”

Sofia Merlo,

Co-CEO at BNP Paribas Wealth Management

The 5 global profiles of Impact Entrepreneurs:

ULTRAPRENEURS – entrepreneurs with a net investable wealth in excess of USD25 million

67% of Ultrapreneurs are Social Investors, with environmental and social business investments their most frequently-used vehicles. They invest in this way to create jobs (41%), safeguard the environment (38%) and support the transition to clean energy (32%).
SERIALPRENEURS - entrepreneurs who own or have established four or more operating companies

They are more focussed on using their wealth strategically to support other high-potential businesses: they allocate 15% of their portfolio to angel investments and private equity to fund new companies.
MILLENNIPRENEURS - entrepreneurs aged 35 or under

46% say they define their business success in terms of social impact, compared to 39% of all entrepreneurs. Despite this, a majority do not feel satisfied with their achievements in this area to date and identify social impact as a future business priority.
WOMENPRENEURS

Women Entrepreneurs continue to outperform their male peers with a higher average net worth. They are more motivated than their male counterparts to hold ESG (Environmental & Social Goals) investments to ensure a positive impact, at 37% vs 33% for male.
BOOMERPRENEURS - entrepreneurs aged 55 or over

They are less convinced of the merits of investments geared towards achieving social or environmental outcomes: 55% have no exposure in their portfolios, with the main reason cited is a lack of interest. Equity funds and environmental investments are the favoured routes to market for those that do.

“Their investments can amplify their ambitions to create a better environment for the next generation while reflecting their values. The ‘millennipreneurs’ hold great wealth potential and will lead the way: impressively, 64% of them are already actively engaged in impact investing, particularly in terms of job creation.”

Vincent Lecomte,

Co-CEO at BNP Paribas Wealth Management