Seeking to serve humanity, heart’s founders, Peter and Mandy Shrimpton moved to Cape Town in January 2003.  Peter volunteered his services to a variety of NGOs for two years. During this time, they worked closely with disadvantaged people at grassroots level in South Africa. They noted a dire need for resource mobilisation. Finding themselves fund raising for campaigns and causes relentlessly, they realized that giving money away to charity did not create sustainable solutions.

They developed an idea to build social businesses and began creating venture capital models for the social sector.  Working side by side, Peter and Mandy began pioneering social enterprise in South Africa. Their first major accomplishment was establishing a Hub for Social Entrepreneurs in Woodstock, Cape Town, in December 2004. Starting with minimum budget, they financed their portfolio by providing consulting services to leading corporations and generating income through the start-up social enterprises in their portfolio.

Through five years of implementation work on the ground, they developed a unique methodology to incubate social enterprises and teach Social Entrepreneurs how to run sustainable businesses. The skills they acquired in stock broking, asset management, venture capital, investor relations and corporate communications provide them with a unique approach to the social sector and social capital markets.

Over the years, they have been joined by an extraordinary team who share their deep love for South Africa and Africa and are equally committed to its transformation.  In 2009, The Heart Of Healing was re-branded heart, in recognition of its role as a social enterprise incubator sustaining life in the social sector.  In the years ahead, heart will deliver qualified deal flow to social investors and funds to deserving social entrepreneurs. By delivering a Blended Value Proposition, heart aims to introduce a new form of social investment, a new way of giving, a new capital structure that is capable of driving social change.