OPES-LCEF Foundation
Opes supports enterprises that generate social and environmental impact at scale through impact investing. Established in 2012, Opes-Lcef Foundation was a pioneer in Italy and is internationally recognized for its commitment to supporting social entrepreneurship through the deployment of patient capital.
Its activities encompass both financial support, including equity investments, hybrid instruments, and debt financing, and pre- and post-investment assistance through mentorship, strategic guidance, and support in attracting additional sources of capital.
Particular attention is devoted to women’s entrepreneurship. For this reason, the Foundation has embedded gender lens investing into its vision, adopting it both as an impact approach and as a risk mitigation strategy. It also places strong emphasis on promoting diversity in all its forms, viewing it as a driver of entrepreneurship, innovation, growth, and sustainable development.
The Opes-Lcef Foundation is also actively engaged in ecosystem-building through capacity-building and training initiatives. Its flagship initiative is the Social Enterprise O pen Camp (SEOC), a unique learning platform that brings together organizations working across the fields of the social economy, innovative philanthropy, and impact finance.
In 2017, the OPES LCEF Charitable Trust in London became part of the Opes network. In 2023, the Trust established Opes Consulting in Nairobi, Kenya, further expanding the organization’s international presence.
In 2019, the Foundation catalyzed the creation of Opes Italia SICAF EuVECA, a regulated investment fund supervised by the Bank of Italy and operating as an independent legal entity, separate from the Italian Foundation. The fund invests in businesses that generate positive impact on the environment, territories, people, communities, value chains, and the broader ecosystems in which they operate.
In collaboration with
Consorzio Nazionale CGM
Consorzio Nazionale CGM is a network that promotes the social enterprise development in Italy, for an inclusive and sustainable economy. For more than 30 years, CGM has supported the ecosystem of affiliated cooperatives and social enterprises in developing models for responding to community needs. CGM provides R&D, training, consultancy, and coordination of European and national projects.
42 associated local networks with about 500 cooperatives and social enterprises are active in a multitude of services: social housing, education, care for vulnerable groups, and labor inclusion.
