Hawaii Investment Ready

What Hawaii Investment Ready does

Hawaii Investment Ready (HIR) is a Honolulu-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit social accelerator founded in 2013 by Lisa Kleissner and Neil Hannahs. It is the first Native-led accelerator in Hawaii and supports social enterprises addressing the state's social and environmental challenges by providing capacity-building, access to investment, and post-program mentorship. HIR's product portfolio has evolved from a general Social Enterprise Accelerator to a systems-based suite comprising the Hawaii Food Systems Accelerator (with dual Enterprise and Funder Cohorts), the ʻĀina Aloha Economy Fund (Hawaii's first catalytic capital fund providing flexible debt capital), Leveraging Hawaii Capital (quarterly impact investing workshops), and the Hawaii Capital Scan (a research initiative mapping government, philanthropic, and private capital in Hawaii). HIR integrates a place-based Hawaiian worldview — themes of aloha ʻāina, moʻokūauhau, mālama ʻāina, education, family, community, and culture — with modern business tools across impact model, business model, financials, fundraising, marketing, HR, governance, and capital readiness.

HIR operates a grant-funded, cohort-based go-to-market model. Programs are delivered in five in-person modules, with participant fees of $1,000 per person and the balance of approximately $25,000 per year per enterprise subsidized by founders, foundations, and partners; scholarships are available based on need. Cohort 7, launching in 2026, is invitation-only by referral and focused on Food Systems Infrastructure, signaling a shift toward curated selection. Distribution is direct-to-enterprise, domestic-only (Hawaii), and supported by a multi-channel marketing footprint (blog, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, email newsletter, the annual WAIWAI Con conference, and earned media in Civil Beat, Hawaii Business Magazine, Pacific Business News, and GreenMoney Journal).

HIR's economic footprint is portfolio-level rather than entity-level: 65+ enterprises have graduated, supporting approximately 1,400 jobs and $100M in annual revenue across the portfolio. HIR itself does not disclose entity-level revenue, headcount is small (1-10 in firmographics, with one source indicating core team growth from 1 to 14 over a decade), and the organization is led by Co-CEOs Keoni Lee and Miwa Tamanaha (since 2024) with a board chaired by co-founder Lisa Kleissner.

Name

Hawaii Investment Ready

Legal name

Hawaii Investment Ready

Website

https://hiready.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Hawaii Investment Ready is a Honolulu-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit and Hawaii's first Native-led social accelerator. It runs cohort-based accelerator programs, the ʻĀina Aloha Economy catalytic capital fund, and impact investing workshops, serving Hawaii-based social enterprises and food systems innovators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Enterprise Accelerator Services

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Community Development & Affordable Housing Funds (FSANAJAK)

Keywords

• Social enterprise accelerator
• Impact investing services
• Capacity building programs
• Catalytic capital fund
• Food systems acceleration

Headquarters

HQ city

Honolulu

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: HIR is described as a grant-funded nonprofit organization. Program delivery costs approximately $25,000 per year per enterprise, with participant fees of $1000 per person subsidized by founders and partners. The organization also receives investments and manages the 'Āina Aloha Economy Fund.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Hawaiʻi Investment Ready runs cohort-based accelerator programs and impact investing support for social enterprises in Hawaiʻi. Core offerings include the HIR Accelerator (Social Enterprise Accelerator), the Hawaiʻi Food Systems Accelerator, the ʻĀina Aloha Economy Fund (a catalytic capital fund), Leveraging Hawaiʻi Capital workshops, and the Hawaiʻi Capital Scan research project. Enterprises pay a subsidized $1,000 participant fee while program costs of approximately $25,000 per enterprise per year are covered by grants and partner contributions.

Product overview

Hawaii Investment Ready operates as a social enterprise accelerator and impact investing nonprofit offering a portfolio of interconnected programs and funds. The core offerings include the HIR Accelerator Program (general social enterprise support) and the specialized Hawaiʻi Food Systems Accelerator (systems-based food supply chain focus), complemented by the ʻĀina Aloha Economy Fund (catalytic capital fund providing debt financing), Leveraging Hawaiʻi Capital workshops/webinars, the Hawaiʻi Capital Scan research initiative, and an Impact Library of resources. The organization functions as an intermediary connecting enterprises with investors, philanthropists, and capacity-building resources to rebuild an economy serving all of Hawaiʻi.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ʻĀina Aloha Economy Fund: Hawaiʻi's first catalytic capital fund helping to shift the narrative of what is possible in how Hawaii invests in change, integrating HIR's program expertise and research with the work of ʻĀina Aloha Economic Futures.
• Hawaiʻi Food Systems Accelerator
• Leveraging Hawaiʻi Capital (LHC)
• Hawaiʻi Capital Scan (HCS)

Products and services

• HIR Accelerator Program (Social Enterprise Accelerator) Business accelerator designed to help social enterprises (nonprofit and for-profit) better understand and scale their impact and business models, assisting them in accessing resources for growth. Utilizes a regional toolkit of training and coaching providing integrative capacity building experience across impact model, business model, financials, fundraising, marketing, HR, governance, capital, and presentation skills. Delivered in five modules with two senior decision-makers from each enterprise participating.
• Hawaiʻi Food Systems Accelerator Systems-based multi-stakeholder accelerator program targeting food supply chain challenges and opportunities in Hawaiʻi. Comprises two complementary cohorts: Enterprise Cohort (innovators across the food system value chain) and Funder Cohort (funders from government, philanthropic, and private sectors). Cohort 7 (2026) is invitation-only by referral focusing on Food Systems Infrastructure with 12 enterprises selected.
• ʻĀina Aloha Economy Fund Hawaiʻi's first catalytic capital fund providing flexible, patient, and risk-tolerant debt capital to bridge the capital gap between grant funding and commercial capital for systems entrepreneurs (Native-led and/or sustainable foodways-focused). Includes ongoing technical assistance and navigation of resources.
• Leveraging Hawaiʻi Capital (LHC) Quarterly impact investing oriented workshops to uplift expert knowledge and best practices for investing in and capitalizing solutions to social and environmental challenges in Hawaii. Includes webinars covering topics like CDFIs, food systems financing, and business pivoting.
• Hawaiʻi Capital Scan (HCS) Research and mapping project analyzing government, private sector, and philanthropic capital in Hawaiʻi. Inaugural mapping focuses on Hawaiʻi's Food Systems, examining capital stocks, capital flows, and efficacy of public, private and philanthropic investment drivers.
• Impact Library Aggregated resource library for investors, social entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and philanthropists containing curated impact investing terms, global impact investing resources, social entrepreneurship resources, and HIR webinar materials.

Quantifiable outcome

• 65 enterprises graduated from accelerator programs
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Āina Aloha Economic FuturescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHIR integrates its program expertise and research with the work of 'Āina Aloha Economic Futures, a unifying community-centered economic development framework co-created by Native Hawaiian community members. The 'Āina Aloha Economy Fund is a joint initiative.
• Feed The Hunger FundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEO Patti Chang of Feed The Hunger Fund participated in the Food Systems Accelerator Funder Cohort. Feed The Hunger Fund is a certified CDFI working on food equity in Hawaii and California.
• Arizona State UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArizona State University W. P. Carey School of Business and Morrison School of Agribusiness partnered on the Hawai'i Capital Scan project, with Prof. Steven Vickner as Faculty Lead Researcher.
• Elemental ExceleratormajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerElemental Excelerator participated in the Food Systems Accelerator Funder Cohort, supporting systems-level collaboration for food system resilience.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Elemental Excelerator: Hawaii-based accelerator funding climate, energy, and community resilience startups. Most direct peer: shares geographic concentration in Hawaii, cohort-based delivery, and a Funder Cohort component that brings in public/philanthropic capital alongside enterprises.
• Toniic: Global impact investing network co-founded by HIR co-founder Lisa Kleissner. Both organizations operate at the intersection of impact investing education, capital deployment, and enterprise support, with overlapping leadership and member bases.
• NESsT: Global nonprofit that runs social enterprise accelerator programs and an enterprise development fund. Similar mission of supporting social enterprises with capacity building plus catalytic capital, and operates as a 501(c)(3) intermediary.
• Echoing Green: Fellowship and leadership program for social entrepreneurs, providing seed funding, coaching, and a peer network. Directly comparable model of identifying high-potential social enterprises and accelerating their growth through structured support and capital.
• Village Capital: Impact-focused accelerator using a peer-selection model to back early-stage enterprises. Comparable cohort-based structure, focus on impact measurement, and deliberate effort to surface underrepresented founders in regional ecosystems.
• Acumen: Global nonprofit impact investor and accelerator (Acumen Fellows, Pioneer Energy) supporting social enterprises tackling poverty. Closely aligned mission, founder-development focus, and blend of capacity building with patient capital deployment.

Broad incumbents

• Ashoka: Largest global social entrepreneurship support network, electing Ashoka Fellows and providing long-term ecosystem support. Less focused than HIR on Hawaii-specific food systems, but is the global anchor for the same model of backing systems-change entrepreneurs.
• Impact Hub: Global network of locally rooted impact hubs offering incubation, programming, and community for social innovators. Comparable mission and accelerator offerings, though broader in scope and operating in many geographies rather than a single place-based niche.
• Skoll Foundation: Major social entrepreneurship funder backing social entrepreneurs and intermediary organizations through the Skoll Award and ecosystem grants. Operates at a significantly larger scale than HIR but addresses the same underlying need of accelerating high-impact enterprises.

Others

• SOCAP: Conference and curated community convening social entrepreneurs, impact investors, and philanthropic partners. Comparable in convening function to HIR's Leveraging Hawai'i Capital workshops and WAIWAI Con, but at global rather than regional scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/HIRimpact
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hawaiiinvestmentready
• Instagraminstagram.com/hiready
• Xx.com/hirimpact

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hawaii Investment Ready