Steward Ownership Festival puts mission-driven entrepreneurship centre stage

How do you ensure that a company’s mission remains at the heart of the business in the long term? That is the central question at the Steward Ownership Festival Amsterdam (SOFA) on 8 October. Our partner We Are Stewards is organising the festival, bringing together entrepreneurs and organisations to share knowledge and experiences of steward ownership. 

The mission comes first 

In steward-owned companies, control lies with ‘stewards’. These are people who are closely involved with the company and its mission – in other words, the main reason why the company exists. The stewards ensure that the company makes decisions that are in line with its mission. Investors can still be financially involved, but they do not determine the direction the company takes. This enables the company to continue pursuing its sustainable and social mission in the long term. There are now more than 200 steward-owned companies in the Netherlands. We Are Stewards wants this number to continue growing in the coming years and aims for the Netherlands to have thousands of these companies by 2035. 

DOEN Ventures takes the stage 

DOEN Ventures believes it is important to create more space for companies that put their mission first and welcomes We Are Stewards’ initiative. That is why DOEN will also take the stage at SOFA. Ward Wolters, Impact Investing Principal at DOEN Ventures, will speak at the festival. Sigrid van Aken, CEO of the Postcode Lottery Group, will also be speaking. In addition to We Are Stewards, our partner CrowdBuilding will share its story at SOFA. Both organisations will share their knowledge and experiences of steward ownership and discuss what this way of doing business could mean for the future. 

Don’t want to miss it? You can still order tickets here. 

DOEN Ventures invests in We Are Stewards thanks to the participants of the Postcode Loterij.