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Zurich-based Übermorgen Ventures was founded in 2019 to invest in climate-change startups that focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The VC has invested in five startups including recent participation in the €500,000 seed investment of German low-cost solar provider Sunvigo in January 2021 and the $6.2m seed round of Finnish biocarbon startup Carbo Culture in April. 

Founded in 2017, Starlight Ventures is a venture capital firm based in Miami, Florida. Investing mainly in US-based startups, the VC currently has 29 startups in its portfolio including enterprises involved in alternative energy, carbon reduction or replacement and alt-proteins sectors. In 2020, the firm joined investment rounds for US deep-tech aerospace startup InterCosmos in July and the $84m Series A for fusion energy tech Commonwealth Fusion in May.

Omnes is a Paris-based European investor in private equity and infrastructure. It specializes in deep tech and healthcare. It has backed 450 businesses, with €5bn assets under management. 

Shell Foundation is the not-for-profit investment arm of the global energy giant Shell.  Based in London, the foundation was set up in 2000 to invest in social and environmental impact companies, including startups with the potential to reach out to over 10m low-income consumers and achieve financial viability within 10 years. The foundation mainly invests at the pre-seed and seed funding stage and currently has 77 startups in its portfolio. In January 2021, it joined the $790,000 seed round of African agritech social enterprise AgroCenta and also gave a $350,000 grant to sustainable mobility platform Easy Matatu in Uganda.

Based in Frankfurt, GreenTec Capital Partners is a German social impact investor that focuses on supporting African tech and non-tech startups. The VC plans to increase its investment portfolio to a total of 400 enterprises by 2023. Its current stake in 20 startups is estimated to be €32.5m. In 2020, GreenTec joined the pre-seed round of Nigerian online food cooperative Principally and seed round of Freshbag, a farmers’ marketplace in Cameroon. Recent investments also include AgroCenta’s seed funding in January 2021.

Mohit Goel is one of India’s youngest real estate tycoons and an angel investor. He appeared as one of a panel of potential investors on the India reality TV show The Vault,  which features start-ups pitching their business ideas to angel investors in order to seek funding. Goel is CEO of Omaxe, a real estate firm based in New Delhi. As the second-generation head of the company, he was credited for structural changes aimed at turning the firm around amidst challenging market conditions and introducing fresh concepts and customer-centric ideas to strengthen the business. Goel is also the north zone head of CREDAI Youth Wing, an industry body bringing together the next generation of leaders in India’s real estate and property developer market. In 2014, he was named Young Male Entrepreneur of the Year at the Infra & Realty Sutra Awards and also received the Young Achiever’s Award at ABP News’ Real Estate Awards.

IRDI Capital Investissement supports innovative startups and local SMEs in southwest France, with offices in Bordeaux, Toulouse, and Montpellier. Over its 40-year history, the company has invested some €800m in more than 1,400 companies. 

Capricorn Investment Group is one of the world’s largest mission-aligned investment companies, managing more than $6bn in multi-asset class portfolios for families, foundations and institutional investors.  Notably, it manages the investment portfolio of Jeff Skoll, the first President of eBay, and his charitable organization. The company has offices in Silicon Valley and New York. It has invested in 63 companies to date, many aimed at tackling key challenges facing our world today. It has managed 14 exits to date, including Tesla. Its main focus is on technology and sustainability, with a particular interest in deeptech, aerospace, transport, agtech, healthcare and energy. The firm’s most recent disclosed investments were in May 2021, via participation in the $100m Series B round of Canadian quantum computing startup Xanadu and the $28m Series B round of US geothermal tech company Fervo Energy.

Bamboo Capital Partners is an impact investment company that focuses on supporting energy access, finance and healthcare-related ventures in developing countries. The company manages 10 investment funds across Asia, Africa, and Latin America, with companies in Indonesia, India, Kyrgyz Republic, and Brazil having received investments from this company.  Bamboo Capital Partners states that their portfolio healthcare companies have served 3.4m patients, and 9.68m metric tons of CO2 emissions have been avoided through the use of solar panels and green energy championed by their startups.Bamboo Capital Partners have worked with governments and major investment groups to support the fulfillment of SDG goals through startup investing. In 2020, Bamboo Capital Partners was appointed by the government of Madagascar and the World Bank as the fund manager for the $40m Off-Grid Market Development Fund. Bamboo is also a partner of the Palladium Group, which owns a minority stake in the VC.

Norfund is the sovereign investment fund of Norway, established by the parliament in 1997 and owned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The company has committed NOK 28.4bn in investments into 170 projects in developing countries as of 2020. Norfund has regional offices in Thailand, Costa Rica, Kenya, Mozambique and Ghana to support its activities in Asia, Africa and Latin America. In Asia, its core investment targets are Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Norfund primarily invests in three key areas: clean energy, agriculture and fintech. The fund has invested in solar power projects and various food companies in India and various African countries. In Asia, Norfund has invested in Amartha, an Indonesian P2P lending fintech company providing loans to women-led microbusinesses. Norfund also invests in other venture funds, such as Southeast Asia-focused Openspace Ventures Fund III, to expand and diversify their portfolio.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is an international NGO operating across over 100 countries with projects initially focused on the protection of endangered species, which later expanded into other areas like the preservation of biological diversity, protection of natural resources, and the mitigation of climate change. It is considered the world's largest conservation organization, working with a network of different NGOs, governments, scientists, companies, local communities, investment banks, fishermen and farmers. The WWF was founded in 1961 and 55% of its funding comes from individuals and bequests, 19% from government sources, and 8% from corporations. With more than $1bn in investment capital, WWF has supported more than 12,000 conservation initiatives with over 5m supporters worldwide. The institution has been often criticized for not campaigning objectively because of its strong ties with multinational corporations such as Coca-Cola, Lafarge, and IKEA. In 2019 the institution reported 4% of its total operating revenue coming from corporations. 

Sky Ocean Ventures is a £25m impact investment fund and part of the Sky Media Group. It was launched in 2018 with the goal of accelerating businesses that can tackle global plastic pollution with innovative ideas and disruptive technologies. The firm has backed 20 startups that have developed solutions that help mitigate plastic disposals in the environment, such as disposable bottles made of paper, reusable delivery boxes, sachets made from seaweed and packaging made from wood chips. Sky Ocean Ventures also partners with, among others, The National Geographic and the Imperial College in London. 

Redview Capital was founded in 2016 by Yu Jianming, Managing Partner and co-founder of New Horizon Capital. It is a private equity fund focused on sectors of advanced manufacturing, clean energy, new materials, consumer products and retail. Redview Capital currently has $560m in assets under management.

The Boston-based Grantham Environmental Trust is part of the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment. The philanthropic organization was founded in 1997 by entrepreneurs Jeremy Grantham and his wife Hannelore as a private foundation controlled by family members. Grantham is chairman and co-founder of investment management firm GMO. The charitable trust has independent trustees like the CEOs of World Wildlife Fund US and the Rocky Mountain Institute. The trust’s Neglected Climate Opportunities LLC invests in little-funded yet promising climate change prevention technologies. Recent investments include the $12m Series A round of Vence, a US-based producer of a virtual fencing wearable for livestock management in May 2021 and the January 2021 investment round of US sustainable electrofuels producer Infinium.

Startmate is an accelerator program for tech-enabled Australian and New Zealand start-ups. It also operates a seed fund backed by venture capitalists and established entrepreneurs. The organisation was established in 2011 by Niki Scevak, founder of Blackbird Ventures, and a team that included the founders of Australian enterprise software company Atlassian.  Since its inception in 2011, Startmate has invested in more than 150 startups with a combined valuation of more than A$1 billion. Startmate runs two accelerator cohorts a year, usually from January–April and July–October. This accelerator program is open to a wide range of entrepreneurs, from idea-stage groups and pre-Series A startups, to solo founders and complete teams. Companies participating in Startmate’s accelerator program each receive A$75,000 from Startmate’s community of mentors, in exchange for 7.5% equity. In 2019 Startmate launched a dedicated Climate Cohort, which runs parallel with the standard program and focuses on startups in cleantech and climate-tech. Startmate also runs a First Believers program twice a year, which trains future or aspiring angel investors from Australia and New Zealand by building their confidence and networks and refining their investment strategies. In addition, the organization runs a coaching and mentorship program and holds other networking programs, like a Founders’ Fellowship, Women Fellowship, and Student Fellowship, at various dates throughout the year.  

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