Screw the System. Build a Better One
Why Impact Entrepreneurs Are the Ones Rewriting the Future
Economic systems as we know them are cracking open and Artificial Intelligence is transforming entire industries. Jobs we once thought were secure are facing threat, and climate disruption is accelerating faster than global responses. Around the world, communities are feeling the strain; economically, socially, and ecologically. It’s no longer a question of whether change is needed. It’s a question of who’s going to take the lead. The answer?
We are. We’re Impact Entrepreneurs.
We are the ones busy building the next economy from the ground up.
How AI Is Reshaping the Business Landscape
Artificial Intelligence is no longer a futuristic concept. From automation in manufacturing to predictive algorithms in finance and logistics, AI is rapidly redefining the roles that humans play in the economy. But the most profound disruption is now taking place in the Knowledge Economy.
Historically considered “safe” from automation, roles in law, marketing, journalism, software development, customer service, and even education are being fundamentally restructured by technology. Tools like generative AI, large language models, and machine learning platforms are increasingly handling tasks that once required highly skilled human input.
According to a 2023 McKinsey report, generative AI could potentially automate activities that account for up to 60–70% of current employee workloads, particularly in knowledge-intensive sectors. Goldman Sachs estimates that as many as 300 million full-time jobs globally could be affected by AI, with white-collar professions facing some of the steepest transformations. While AI creates new roles, the pace of displacement is outstripping traditional systems of retraining, leaving millions (especially mid-career professionals) vulnerable to obsolescence.
This is a structural recalibration of how value is created and who gets to construct it. In this context, resilience will come from building new models that prioritise adaptability, human insight, and ethical innovation. Impact entrepreneurs are already leading that charge by using AI to unlock new forms of access, intelligence, and opportunity that serve broader social and environmental goals.
Welcome to the Era of the Impact Entrepreneur
A quiet shift is accelerating as more founders are choosing to walk away from traditional models that no longer serve them. Instead, they’re channeling their experience, skills, and vision into businesses that address some of the most urgent challenges of our time - those that bring purpose.
These pioneers are educators turned innovators, technologists from underserved regions, and former corporate executives seeking more than just shareholder returns and profit. Many are next-gen leaders who refuse to compromise their values for purpose. What unites them is a deep commitment to human rights, environmental sustainability, economic justice, and future-fit systems.
They move fast. They solve real problems. And they’re not waiting for permission.
What Impact Entrepreneurship Looks Like
Across industries and continents, impact entrepreneurs are engineering real, measurable change, proving that business can be both profitable and transformational. In the tech and education sectors, companies like Andela have shifted the global hiring landscape by training over 175,000 African software engineers and connecting them to remote roles with top international firms. At the same time, mobile-first education platforms are reaching rural communities across East Africa, delivering entrepreneurship and coding education via low-bandwidth technologies that expand access where traditional infrastructure has failed.
Climate-focused entrepreneurs are addressing environmental degradation and poverty in tandem. Plastic Bank, for example, has created an ecosystem where plastic waste becomes currency, providing financial incentives to collect ocean-bound plastic, simultaneously reducing pollution. In South Africa and Kenya, the rise of refill stations and zero-waste stores is changing local economies by lowering packaging costs and increasing access to sustainable goods. Farmers across the region are adopting solar-powered borehole irrigation systems that cut dependency on fossil fuels and dramatically increase crop yields, demonstrating scalable, community-based climate resilience in action.
Impact entrepreneurs are delivering solutions that tackle pollution and poverty in tandem. In Nairobi, Kenyan engineer Nzambi Matee’s startup Gjenge Makers transforms plastic waste into durable paving bricks. These products outperform conventional concrete in strength while repurposing tons of discarded plastic. Since 2018, Gjenge has recycled over 20 tonnes of plastic into building blocks used in affordable housing and public infrastructure.
Likewise, in Chile, Ecocitex has transformed low-value or damaged garments into high-quality eco-yarn, without toxic dyes or water. They are employing formerly incarcerated women in the process and demonstrating that textile reuse can be both environmentally restorative and socially empowering. Together, these initiatives prove that circular clothing platforms can cut resource wastage, create dignified jobs, and build supply chains designed to regenerate both the economy and the ecosystem.
These proven, replicable models are grounded in pragmatism and purpose. They show what the next economy looks like when innovation serves people first and scales with intention. Impact entrepreneurs aren’t just chasing profit for the sake of lifestyle anymore; instead, they are building businesses with purpose and conscience, driven by the urgency to lead meaningful change in the world.
The Opportunity of Our Time
The path to building a business with purpose has never been more accessible. With AI-enabled tools, digital infrastructure, and decentralised systems, the barriers to entry are becoming increasingly lower, simultaneously opening up space for bold, values-led ventures to emerge. At the same time, global crises (from climate instability to widening inequality) are creating urgent, unmissable opportunities for innovation that now directly serve the people and the planet.
If you’re asking where you fit in, here’s the answer: Right here. Right now.. All you need is clear values, resilient strategies, and a support system that views business as regeneration, not extraction.
At 100K², we work alongside founders who are building this future from the inside out. We’re here to help create new opportunities for sustainability from old, outdated systems, where economies prioritise justice, sustainability, and human wellbeing at scale.
We’re Not Fixing the System. We’re Building a New One.
Impact entrepreneurship isn’t about rebranding capitalism with a softer edge. It’s about designing new rules that reward long-term thinking, creativity with consequence, and growth that leaves no one behind.
The future of business won’t be led by those who scale the fastest. It will be led by those who build with clarity, conviction, and staying power. And if you’re reading this, you’re already part of that shift. Welcome. Let’s build a better world, together.
Written by Claire Taylor in collaboration with Roy Fletcher.