Entrepreneurs pledge wealth to tackle inequality in city

With its university spires and world-leading science sector, many believe life in Cambridge is one of privilege and wealth, but it is one of the most unequal cities in the UK.

Innovate Cambridge, an initiative launched in 2022, has founded The Cambridge Pledge, a project that aims to improve the lives of people in the city who are homeless, living in poverty or in the care system.

The scheme encourages entrepreneurs to offer a share of their current or future wealth to fund social projects in the area.

Sara Allen, the executive director of The Cambridge Pledge, says: "We want to fund children's homes, support for care leavers, projects to help the homeless and education projects in Cambridge and the wider county."

Lucy Jung is a design engineer who has pledged a percentage of her future wealth via The Cambridge Pledge.

She says: "I see the inequality in Cambridge every day. Our office is in the middle of the city and as we leave at night, there are homeless people who are really struggling - that is not something we should pass by."

For the past ten years the mother-of-two has been living with a brain tumour.

She says: "Ten years ago I was at university, and very excited about the innovations that we were working on. I started to get strange symptoms which affected my vision and balance.

"Very quickly I got diagnosed with a brain tumour. They were able to take away a portion of the tumour but not all, and so I still rely on regular check-ups."

In 2019 she co-founded Charco Neurotech Ltd, which developed a device to reduce rigidity in people with Parkinson's Disease.

She adds: "[My brain tumour] keeps me grounded and it means I can understand health issues from a tech point of view but also as a patient."

Ms Jung has since founded Lyeons Neurotech, which is developing solutions for people with anxiety and sleep disorders.

"[My tumour] has given me the drive to help as many people as possible and if I can do more through the Pledge, that's a real privilege. It was a no-brainer for me to contribute.

"When I started doing school-runs I could see life outside of the university and institutions.

"Being part of the Pledge makes me want to work harder so I can help."

Marcel Gehrung is chief executive and the co-founder of Cyted Health in Cambridge, which developed the capsule sponge to help diagnose oesophageal cancer.

"When I first heard about the Pledge my first thought was 'why hasn't this been done before?'.

"I grew up in a working-class environment in Germany, but I was just fortunate to be in the right place, at the right time.

"I want to back the Pledge because I don't think some things should be left to chance. I want other young people to have the opportunities I did.

"I never really thought about what I'd do if I achieved success, I was just focused on the next step, but being part of this has changed my perspective on why I do what I do.

"It's too easy in this environment to be detached from what the Pledge can mean to people and what it can achieve in the real world and I want to visit as many of the projects as possible," he says.

Ms Allen says: "Some entrepreneurs are able to give money now, and that's what we're investing and will begin spending this year. Others are building their success and have pledged a percentage of their future wealth.

"It's a risk, because not all entrepreneurial ventures work out, but then some become 'unicorns' [a privately owned company valued at more than $1bn].

"If you look at the overall success of Cambridge, I think we can be confident that we'll achieve something very special.

"Many of those who're pledging are young people, in their 30s, who've gone into the medical field.

"Their motivation wasn't making themselves wealthy. They've done it to improve people's lives and what became clear to me is that they're backing the pledge as an extension of that.

"We're talking to local councils and the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority to identify needs and make sure our investments compliment plans and projects to tackle inequality."

Robert Pollock, the chief executive of Cambridge City Council, said: "The Cambridge Pledge is a great way to connect the wealth created by entrepreneurs and start-up founders with practical projects that can make a huge and lasting difference in our local communities.

"I'm very grateful for the generosity and civic commitment of our pledgers and would love to see more business leaders stepping forward."

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