A technology group has delivered £14.3 million of social and economic impact in 2023, demonstrating the importance of balancing commercial business success with social responsibility.
IN4 Group, headquartered in MediaCity, Salford, has experienced rapid growth of 1,000% in revenue from £500,000 in 2020, and a 2,000% increase in profitability as it has expanded operations across the North West, the Midlands and internationally.
According to the Social Impact Report produced by Social Value Business in partnership with the Social Value Quality Mark CIC (SVQM), for every £1 invested in the group’s programmes, there is a social return on investment (SROI) of £5.42 with a total of £14,271,197 generated on behalf of its stakeholders. This is a significant increase of more than three times the value of social impact compared to the previous year of £4.6m.
The value IN4 offers is broken down into five key areas: employment and volunteering (£7,358,076), education and skills (£3,734,552), social and community (£2,179,341), health and wellbeing (£875,069), and economic added value (£124,157).
This social impact has been created through Skills City, one of the country’s largest digital Skills Bootcamps operations, and CyberFirst North West, which is an initiative delivered on behalf of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), a part of GCHQ.
It was found that out of the total participants across all activities in 2022-2023, 80% were female and 65% were from ethnic minorities, showcasing the diversity in backgrounds of the individuals who have been supported with access to the tech sector.
Figures from the report also revealed that Skills City’s Skills Bootcamps generated £12.7m of social impact in 2023 and out of the 623 interns, 60% secured new tech jobs.
Meanwhile there has been an investment of over £600,000 and a contribution of more than 2,200 hours dedicated to the CyberFirst North West programme from across the public and private sector, including its Apex partners: IBM, Northrop Grumman, KPMG UK, QinetiQ, Roke, and BT.
It also found that CyberFirst North West achieved £1.57m of social impact in less than 12 months, establishing 13 local schools and colleges from Lancashire and Greater Manchester as among the best in the UK for cyber and STEM education.
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IN4 has created a unique innovation blueprint that unlocks the potential of highly skilled local talent through technology, delivering sustainable prosperity in communities. It has designed and established several programmes to empower people, particularly young girls, and women, and those from disadvantaged and underrepresented communities in launching successful tech careers.
The Group has successfully secured several government contracts worth over £3.5m through its Skills City operation, enabling more than 600 people to access skills and career development opportunities every year.
IN4 also operates innovation hub HOST, the Home of Skills & Technology in MediaCity, where it recently launched the Manchester Esports Academy (MEA), a junior professional eSports education and skills programme for young people aged 8-16 in Greater Manchester.
Mo Isap, CEO of IN4 Group, said: “We established IN4 Group with a mission that was profit with a purpose. Uniquely operating two balance sheets, one commercial and one social, equally successful and operating in unison.
“Four years into this journey, we are well on track with this mission. Sharing this success with our clients, partners, and stakeholders, and achieving over £14m in social impact further drives our ambition to continue changing lives for the better through technology.
“I believe this is the new order of business. The balance sheet of your business should be as strong as your social impact, and a company must be viewed through the lens of being both commercially successful and sustainable, but also making a significant social impact on our communities.”
Richard Dickins, MD Social Value Business, said: “We congratulate IN4 Group on the significant social value they are driving through Skills City and CyberFirst North West.
“These programmes are outstanding examples of how the tech industry can support young and underrepresented people into digital careers.
“IN4 Group shows a consistent passion and commitment to driving prosperity at a community level. It has been a pleasure to map and measure its impact.”
The Social Impact Report can be viewed here.
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