Projects that promote children and young people, that address people from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds, people in precarious situations, in focus zones or crisis areas, or that allow people at risk of exclusion and poverty to actively participate in society.

Projects that are committed to a fair coexistence of people, that think companies as part of society, that help to develop the potential of people, that stand for equal rights, lived democracy, transparency and tolerance, that promote free media and constructive journalism or that bring about a reflection of one’s own (consumer) behaviour.

Projects that ensure people improved access to education, healthy nutrition, health services, affordable housing, jobs, digital infrastructure and, especially in countries at the bottom of the income pyramid, access to clean drinking water, sanitation or clean energy sources and end hunger and poverty. Furthermore, projects that make cities sustainable as the most important living space for people, rethink mobility and embed urban growth ecologically.

Projects that protect the oceans as well as our forests and other unique ecosystems, promote the transition to organic farming, halt climate change, reduce pollution and ensure that our planet remains habitable for people 50 or 500 years from now.

Projects that rethink our handling of finite resources, save resources, for example through sharing, upcycling or intelligent use of the Internet, or open up sustainable energy sources and raw materials.

We are looking for visionaries who show initiative and move forward, who have the courage to leave well-trodden paths and try out new, often unconventional, solutions, while demonstrating a positive entrepreneurial spirit. True change makers.

We are enthusiastic about projects that are entrepreneurial, that develop financially self-sustaining solutions, that – like Gexsi himself – generate market income for a good cause, that rethink the economy according to the motto: Purpose over Profit.

We look in particular at new, young projects whose potential is clearly discernible but which still need support in order to achieve a breakthrough. We want to give space to develop the potential of the younger generations.

We believe in the opportunities that digitalization brings with it to rethink problem solving and reach people around the world with our issues as drivers of a sharing economy.

We focus more on team performance than on hierarchical structures. It is important to us that the projects we support share and live our values, focus on participation, promote diversity of opinion, develop solutions in the team and cultivate maximum openness and transparency.

We replace complex and expensive due diligence processes by relying heavily on projects that are recommended by our network or are personally known to us. We are also happy to piggyback by supporting projects that have already been audited by recognised organisations in the social entrepreneurship or social impact sector. In this way we minimize the risks.

We ask ourselves whether we can meaningfully support a project with our resources, for example by creating media coverage or closing a financing gap that others cannot close. There is also added value if we can inspire our own community with a great project and thus change behaviour or consumption patterns.

We search specifically for the right project at the right time. For example, we are happy to participate in an ongoing crowdfunding campaign, for which we can create attention, or support an ongoing social entrepreneurship competition, which gives us additional visibility as a partner.

We aim to achieve a balanced project portfolio that covers all 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals over time and reflects a healthy mix of local and international projects. It is also important for us to involve our own community in the project selection process.

Last but not least, important criteria are short coordination paths with the project partners, a positive spirit and a process that is as unbureaucratic as possible. We all invest a lot of energy and time in this project. Gexsi should therefore be fun for everyone involved.