Beam is a social enterprise, registered as Beam Up Ltd. We decided to set Beam up as a social enterprise for three reasons.

First, we exist to help others to become financially sustainable. To keep doing that, we need to be financially sustainable ourselves and we believe the social enterprise model is the best one to ensure our long-term sustainability. 

Second, solving complex social problems requires lots of money. Setting up as a social enterprise rather than a charity provides us with greater access to funding required to have the biggest possible social impact across the globe.

Finally, we believe that people experience social disadvantage are best served by a diversity of organisations: charities, governmental organisations, and also companies which are best suited to building innovative technology. Just as our supporters will benefit from owning a smartphone made by a company like Apple or Samsung, we believe that homeless people and refugees also deserve to benefit from innovative enterprises, whether huge like Apple or tiny like Beam. This is especially so when an organisation like Beam is committed to providing innovation to those we support for free.