Crédits : Elisabeta Tudor. Pictures: Nachson Mimran with "The Throne" and the Jean Prouvé Demountable House on the grounds of The Alpina Gstaad - Cornelius Muller - to.org.
Philosophy
Founded by brothers Nachson and Arieh Mimran, to.org is transforming philanthropy and business, proving we can have fun, make money, and do good with a “Creative Activist” mindset.
In a world where climate change and human displacement are pressing concerns, to.org stands out as a beacon of hope: “When my brother Arieh and I first started out on this journey together, we spent a couple of years learning and travelling the world. We attended conferences, met changemakers, activists, and entrepreneurs, and realised that we could actually build a thesis showing that traditional capitalism can be approached differently,” states Nachson, who is the Co-Founder of to.org and of The Alpina Gstaad.
At the heart of this boundary-pushing vision lies a deeply personal journey for the Mimran brothers, one that shaped to.org’s meaningful mission and approach to philanthropy. “At the end of 2013, just after my mother passed away, I had to force myself into a positive mindset. I didn’t know how to handle the abrupt loss of a parent, and I needed to avoid falling into negativity and self-pity. My siblings and I came together as a family and asked ourselves how we could live a life where we make a lot of money, do a lot of good, and have a lot of fun at the same time,” Nachson continues.
This assertive mindset sparked the foundation of to.org, as they began to explore how to blend philanthropy, entrepreneurship, and creative activism. Over the past decade, this mantra has manifested in the companies they’ve invested in and the projects they’ve supported. “We realised that the status quo of capitalism was leading us down a destructive path and that we needed to offer better solutions within a capitalist framework,” he explains. In this sense, to.org operates in venture capital, philanthropy, and the creative space. “We asked ourselves whether we could invest in startups that have a mission to solve a societal or environmental issue? That became the first vertical of to.org, TO: Ventures.”
TO: Ventures — one of the verticals alongside TO: Foundation and TO: Create — supports some of the world’s most talented entrepreneurs and creatives who are committed to challenging the status quo. It specifically targets early-stage startups with innovative business models. In fact, to.org unites all three verticals on a mission of “tikkun olam” (meaning “repair the world” in Hebrew), aiming to tackle some of the world's most significant challenges through a unique blend of philanthropy, entrepreneurship, and creative activism.
A great example of this mindset is Wasoko, a TO: Ventures portfolio company and Africa’s leading B2B e-commerce platform. Wasoko accesses lower prices for small and family-owned businesses across the continent, who can order fast-moving consumer goods on-demand, allowing end customers to access goods more consistently and at more affordable prices. The company recently finalised a merger – the largest of its kind on the African continent – with MaxAB, another TO: Ventures portfolio company.
TO: Foundation, the non-profit vertical of the platform, has recently completed Bidi Bidi Performing Arts Centre, a project which illustrates the potential to transform the lived experience in refugee settlements. “We saw that for-profit capital can't fix everything and there are many environments in the world that are disenfranchised, where the power of markets don't find their way to support,” Nachson explains. “These are refugee settlements, unplanned communities, and slums. We believed non-profit capital could support these environments enabling these communities to be empowered to thrive. That became to.org’s second vertical, TO: Foundation.”
Focused on empowering refugees, combating climate change, and fostering human potential, TO: Foundation’s innovative approach is set to create lasting global impact by creating, funding, and collaborating with both grassroots and large organisations. “We are committed to establishing spaces for people to regenerate, play, think, and create,” adds Nachson, referring to Bidi Bidi Performing Arts Centre as a project which provides third spaces that prioritise creativity as a vehicle for expression, trauma reduction, and youth development.
Launched in December 2023 within northern Uganda's Bidi Bidi refugee settlement and designed by renowned architecture practice, Hassell Studio, in collaboration with LocalWorks and Arup, this initiative not only provides a space for regeneration and empowerment but also stands as a testament to positive change.
Climate change and conflict have driven involuntary migration at an unprecedented rate, with many displaced people living in refugee settlements for extended periods. “Our multi-year moonshot project Future Cities focuses on providing safe spaces for refugee communities to heal, create, and thrive.” Nachson explains.
In this context, to.org’s ambitious project aims to transform refugee settlements into thriving, innovative hubs. “With 2 billion people facing climate related displacement in the next decade, our current conception of the ‘refugee settlement’ is inadequate,” says Nachson. “These should instead be innovative hubs for connection and growth, places that inherently support the mental and physical health of residents and offer abundant opportunities for work, play, and expression, where refugees are empowered to thrive rather than set up to fail.”
Mawa Zacharaia Erenzio, a refugee resident of Bidi Bidi from South Sudan and the founder of the refugee-led organisation SINA Loketa with whom to.org partnered, agrees with this meaningful concept of healing through creativity: “Dancing is a powerful tool, during dancing we see there is some love, some happiness. We have seen changes, people are no longer fighting among themselves, or with their host community.”
Next on their ambitious agenda is the Regenerate Kakuma initiative in Kenya’s Kakuma refugee settlement, slated to open in 2025. In addition, to.org is looking for partners to sponsor the scaling of their Pavilion project, addressing the global challenge of plastic waste. “The Pavilion concept is inspired by nomadic shelters to highlight how waste plastic is both a scourge and an abundant, inexhaustible resource we could be putting to better use. Our journey into upcycling began in 2018 with our Bottle Brick toilet in Kyebando, soon followed by the installation of an upcycling and 3D printing fab lab for the community,” continues Nachson.
Within TO: Create, TO: Studios, the in-house production arm of to.org, plays a pivotal role in this mission through short- and long-form content, amplifying innovation, passion, and community. An exemplary project is Fabrice Monteiro’s journey in Southern Senegal, where culture, couture, and the mystical converge to produce a powerful picture highlighting the collapse of mangrove ecosystems. These vignettes of inspirational Creative Activists not only capture attention but also drive cultural traction and communicate the challenges Earth faces to a broader audience. Another standout project by TO: Create is "The Throne", a portable toilet made from recycled plastic. “The Throne was created as a proof of concept and a solution to eradicate plastic waste by transforming it into a material that can be used in construction,” Nachson explains. “It is currently installed on the grounds of The Alpina Gstaad and serves as a reminder that one third of the world’s population lacks access to adequate sanitation. We want to challenge people to rethink how they view waste.”
The same creative approach was applied in Uganda with their Bottle Brick toilets. “In the Kyebando slum in the Ugandan capital of Kampala and in partnership with GiveLove and local organisations, we constructed a public toilet using Bottle Bricks — plastic bottles filled with waste polythene bags — collected from the streets,” Nachson shares. This project improved local sanitation while providing work and a creative outlet for the youth population.
TO: Foundation is always on the lookout for exceptional people and non-profit organisations to partner with. “We believed something could link the for-profit world, non-profit organisations, governmental agencies, and the arts together and allow us to view activism creatively. This led to the term 'Creative Activist'. Activism today requires creativity in both mindset and manifestation due to the polarised world of opinions, perspectives, and emotions,” states Nachson.
By creating thought-provoking projects and amplifying powerful stories, the Mimran brothers aim to engage a larger audience and open new avenues for philanthropy. “We regularly gather founders from our portfolio companies, artists, activists, donors, innovators, and other people, all united by the common goal of finding solutions to Earth’s greatest challenges,” Nachson adds.
As the world faces unprecedented challenges, this mindset is more crucial than ever. By leveraging creativity, innovation, and collaboration, TO: Foundation is not only addressing immediate needs but also laying the foundation for an equitable future. “Creativity is the universal language, or a Trojan Horse, that can unite us and help find common ground,” concludes Nachson.
For more information on their projects and how to get involved, visit to.org or email seek@to.org — and join the movement to empower the world’s most vulnerable and heal our planet.
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