Cities Engine
Cities Engine exemplifies the investing, network effect, and idea sharing components of C7, which invests through a 501(c)(3) structure meaning all returns will be recycled by C7 into furthering our impact. We aren’t beholden to others to generate returns so we can judge projects’ social benefits before their financials, the purpose is to amplify our own impact in a sustainable way.
The primary goal of the organization is to find resilient impact initiatives that have the potential to produce quality of life enhancements within their communities.
Cities Engine starts with providing capital at the earliest stages within the entrepreneurial life cycle with fewer strings attached than traditional capital. This could be in the form of an equity investment, loan, or grant.
We want to find entrepreneurs at the idea stage with a strong conviction to impact their communities positively, and seeding them with early capital to enact their vision. Cooperation at the local levels between diverse entities combined with a vertical integration of capital will scale ideas in an efficient manner.
C7’s investment thesis, one with a high risk tolerance, will fill the funding gap before traditional smart money has the investment appetite or due diligence pre requisites met for investment. Occupying this layer of capital is the keystone of C7’s impact investing thesis.
