From insight, to idea, to impact, we work closely with our Changemakers to encourage and accelerate inspired thinking. They have access to Royal London’s knowledge and expertise, tailored business support and funding.
Meet the Changemakers
At Royal London, our social impact work is how we help drive meaningful change for wider society. Through our Changemakers Programme, we've now supported a total of 20 social enterprises focused on our Purpose impact areas of helping to build financial resilience or moving fairly to a sustainable world.
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Pocket forest
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Lendology
Previous case studies
Breadwinners
Half of young refugees struggle to find employment in the UK. Breadwinners want to change that, by supporting refugees and young people seeking asylum into employment through artisan baked goods.
Vanessa, a refugee from Nigeria, was struggling to find work after the asylum process, but once she found Breadwinners she never looked back. The Changemakers helped her to find her feet, her confidence, and her calling in life.
Here’s her story.
Video Transcript
Caption: Royal London is a mutual on a mission to build financial resilience.
Caption: Our Changemakers Programme helps fund social enterprises like Breadwinners.
Caption: Walk a mile in Vanessa’s shoes. After having her life changed, by a Changemaker…
Marlene – Youth Worker and Breadwinners Beneficiary
Martin – Changemaker and Director of Breadwinners
Vanessa: Hi Martin, how are you?
Martin: I’m good and you? How’s it going?
Vanessa: I’m doing alright, it’s very cold to be honest.
Martin: So, when I started Breadwinners five years ago I wanted to support refugee wellbeing by them being able to access work. How was it to work with Breadwinners and what does Breadwinners mean to you?
Vanessa: Working with Breadwinners has helped me a lot. It’s helped improve my people skills. I remember my first time working in the market stall. How I was training to talk to people, to make people smile. It’s something that I would never have done before because I was a little bit locked up in my cage.
Martin: Vanessa [what] is it like for young refugees to start their life in the UK?
Vanessa: You’re new in this country and it’s like, first of all there’s the language barrier. And no-on can understand what you're saying. And then you have to start looking for housing as well. It’s something I also experienced. Searching for housing.
Martin: And how did it feel to actually support other young refugees?
Vanessa: It felt very rewarding because they would come to me to ask questions about the bread, about how to talk to customers. And I felt very happy to be there training people, it felt like training my younger sisters or siblings as well.
Martin: You’ve been training young people and I also wanted to ask you, what are you going to do now? What’s next for you?
Vanessa: I’ve always had a dream of owning a charity that supports people that come into the country and need housing. I think that’s my dream job to be honest.
Martin: That’s amazing. Maybe we can partner in the future, huh?
Vanessa: We should, we really should.
Martin: And Royal London Changemakers is helping me and Breadwinners to do that. Do you think we are making change?
Vanessa: Well Breadwinners has changed my life a lot since giving me working experience. I really can’t wait to see what you do in the future.
Martin: I want to see where you go.
Vanessa: I am going to go so many places. But I’m just going to let you in on a secret. I really don’t like bread.
Martin: What?
Vanessa: Yeah!
Martin: You’re kidding?
Vanessa: No, no. I’m not kidding at all.
Martin: How did you sell so much bread then?
Vanessa: Well the training helped a lot.
Caption: Changemakers have a lasting impact on people and communities.
Caption: Real people. Real change. Made possible by our members and customers like you.
Caption: Discover how our Changemakers are helping to change lives at RoyalLondon.com/Changemakers
Pocket Power
Pocket Power are an enterprise on a mission to tackle the poverty premium by helping people on low incomes find better deals on their household bills, through providing personalised 1:1 support.
Marlene, a carer from Reading, has had her life turned around by the Changemakers. From feeling out of control to confident with the help of Pocket Power.
Here's her story.
Video Transcript
Caption: Royal London is a mutual on a mission to build financial resilience.
Caption: Our Changemakers Programme helps fund social enterprises like Pocket Power.
Caption: Walk a mile in Marlene’s shoes. After having her life changed, by a Changemaker…
Marlene – Carer and Pocket Power beneficiary
Louis – Changemaker and Founder of Pocket Power
Louis: Marlene. It’s so nice to finally meet you.
Marlene: Hi, likewise.
Louis: I’m Louis from Pocket Power.
Marlene: And I’m Marlene, as you know.
Louis: And I’m really looking forward to chatting today about your experience with Pocket Power. We obviously set out to help people save money on their household bills.
Marlene: Yes.
Louis: What was your motivation for having a chat with us?
Marlene: I think I was just came to the end of my tether. It was just too much. I was not opening letters. I was finding it really difficult to sleep at night. And that whole overwhelming feeling.
Louis: In terms of the impact, did anything actually change in the day to day for you?
Marlene: Oh, a lot! For start, I saved some money. About £1000…
Louis: Oh my goodness!
Marlene: And also, on my mental health, everything was so much clearer.
Louis: We look to save people money. But it’s not about the money. It’s about what it does, about the way it allows you to feel more comfortable, less stressed.
Marlene: Oh yes, it was like a complete weight off my shoulders. And you feel empowered and just your every day life just becomes manageable. My experience with Pocket Power has helped me to tell others and really given them the confidence that there is, you know, organisations out there that can help them. As a carer, in the capacity that I work, I’ve seen a lot of my clients really, really concerned, about the rise in bills and how they’re going to cope. And I’ve been able to tell them of my experience, and that’s given them a bit of hope.
Louis: It’s about not just about helping one person in that moment, but trying to equip people with the skills and knowledge that give them the confidence to go make decisions. And what’s really great is when we’ve been providing support, we’ve also received some support ourselves so there’s people out there trying to help organisations like us reach those most in need. We’ve been really lucky. We’ve been on the Royal London Changemakers Programme and they’ve supported us with mentorship, with funding, with specialist advice.
Marlene: That’s amazing. I’m so very grateful. I’m honoured to be a part of it.
Caption: Changemakers have a lasting impact on people and communities.
Caption: Real people. Real change. Made possible by our members and customers like you.
Caption: Discover how our Changemakers are helping to change lives at RoyalLondon.com/Changemakers
How it works
Working with our partner, the School for Social Entrepreneurs, we develop, and invest in bold ideas and sustainable solutions from ambitious social enterprises across the UK and Ireland.
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Two years of support
Including expert consultancy and learning sessions with other social entrepreneurs in the same sector.
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Grants and funding
A grant of £10,000-£30,000, to support business development.
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Unique opportunities
The chance to work with Royal London to work on building resilience for more people facing life shocks and enabling solutions for a Just Transition.
Supporting aspiring social enterprises
Our programme also worked to support early stage entrepreneurs through our previous partner Year Here (opens in a new window).
During our partnership, we supported aspiring individuals for the first two years by working collaboratively to explore unmet needs and pioneer new and innovative solutions.
Following the closure of Year Here in 2022, our programme now focuses on scaling up social enterprises with existing solutions, while also helping them test and build new ideas, which we believe will allow us to make the biggest impact.
The innovation process
- Insight: Understand the needs of those experiencing life shocks.
- Idea: Test ideas and turn them into real world solutions.
- Launch: Identify and develop new ways to meet those needs.
- Growth: Invest in and scale up effective solutions.
- Impact: Deliver greater change for those affected by life shocks.
More information
The School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) know they can’t fix issues like poverty, climate change and poor health alone. That’s why they exist – to help 1,000 leaders of social change every year to develop the skills, strengths and networks they need to tackle society’s biggest problems. The leaders they support help millions of people in need while creating meaningful jobs, often for the most disadvantaged.
SSE run programmes that equip people to start, scale and strengthen social enterprises and organisations that make a positive difference. But they’re not a traditional school. Learning with SSE is inspiring, action-based and accessible. Their programmes are highly tailored to the specific needs of participating organisations, offering a blend of learning, funding and mentoring.
Lord Michael Young founded SSE in 1997 and today they work internationally, with teams across the UK, Canada and India.
A social enterprise is a business that puts the interests of people and the planet first. They want to change the world for the better. Like a conventional business, a social enterprise aims to make a profit – the difference is, they’ll drive the majority of their profits towards their social mission.
Social innovation is the process of creating and implementing new and better ways to meet social needs and solve social problems. While business innovations are often designed to profit an organisation, the ultimate goal of social innovation is to speed up social progress.
The School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) know they can’t fix issues like poverty, climate change and poor health alone. That’s why they exist – to help 1,000 leaders of social change every year to develop the skills, strengths and networks they need to tackle society’s biggest problems. The leaders they support help millions of people in need while creating meaningful jobs, often for the most disadvantaged.
SSE run programmes that equip people to start, scale and strengthen social enterprises and organisations that make a positive difference. But they’re not a traditional school. Learning with SSE is inspiring, action-based and accessible. Their programmes are highly tailored to the specific needs of participating organisations, offering a blend of learning, funding and mentoring.
Lord Michael Young founded SSE in 1997 and today they work internationally, with teams across the UK, Canada and India.
A social enterprise is a business that puts the interests of people and the planet first. They want to change the world for the better. Like a conventional business, a social enterprise aims to make a profit – the difference is, they’ll drive the majority of their profits towards their social mission.
Social innovation is the process of creating and implementing new and better ways to meet social needs and solve social problems. While business innovations are often designed to profit an organisation, the ultimate goal of social innovation is to speed up social progress.