UCI’s Beall Applied Innovation (BAI) nominates social enterprise incubator RevHub to dive into climate-tech efforts, partnering with Sustain SoCal in establishing Climate Action Business Incubator (CABI).
Irvine, CA, August 2023 – RevHub, the first social enterprise incubator in Orange County, has been selected to assist in developing and operating CABI, OC’s first climate action business incubator. The decision was finalized by Beall Applied Innovation at the University of California in Irvine upon receiving a grant of one million dollars from the UC Office of Research.
RevHub will be partnered with Sustain SoCal, which assembles clean technologies and sustainable economic development, in the creation and operation of CABI. As a show of good faith, RevHub has agreed to provide $200,000 to increase resources available for CABI’s progress under its guidance.
Leveraging their relationships with foundations and investors, UCI’s BAI, RevHub, and Sustain Socal will operate on behalf of CABI applicants. The funding will also permit a community workshop in which expert climate action knowledge and data can be shared.
RevHub President and CEO Stephan Erkelens is focused on utilizing organizations like CABI to shape the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Orange County, setting the precedent for the rest of the state, the nation, and eventually the world at large.
“OC is an emerging sector and economic driver, spawning new jobs where potential millions are being employed to benefit society, the environment, and other valuable causes,” says Erkelens. “Local foundations, churches, corporations, universities, and the OC public sector all encourage innovation here.”
A long-time innovator of the coffee industry, Erkelens co-founded RevHub with the support of other seasoned professionals who have a proven track record in charitable giving, business, finance, and social enterprise. Compelled by a unified vision, the group strives to create a better mechanism to fund and sustain social enterprises both at home and around the world. Under this belief, RevHub has become a collaborative ecosystem of like-minded individuals where both founders and funders are able to accelerate the impact of nascent social enterprises.
About RevHubOC |
RevHub is coalescing Orange County’s social enterprise ecosystem for greater innovation and impact. Founded in 2019, RevHub is a community of investors, entrepreneurs, mentors, and partners that has incubated 23 social enterprises and established RevFund I, Orange County’s first social impact investment fund. In 2022, RevHub joined several partners in establishing the NorthSTAR (Systems To Access Resources) OC Collaborative to build the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Orange County. This ecosystem is designed to illuminate pathways and eliminate barriers to entrepreneurship for under-represented and under-resourced communities.
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