Social Enterprises

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NUMA is a Paris-based innovation hub with offices in New York, Berlin, Moscow, Barcelona, Mexico City, Casablanca in Morocco and Bengalaru, India. Supported by its 130 staff members, the company runs training and startup acceleration programs globally. To date, 300 startups have participated in NUMA's acceleration program, which was developed in partnership with the City of Paris. To date, NUMA has seen 17 exits from its investments. 

The IESE BAN was formed in 2003 by a group of angel investors and entrepreneurs bringing together both alumni and non-alumni of the IESE Business School. It creates and manages deal flow for investors while establishing synergies and collaboration among the network's members. It counts on more than 250 active investors financing technology startups in Madrid and Barcelona. To-date, IESE BAN has invested more than €50m in over 220 startups. It is also part of ACCIÓ’s Network of Private Investors, which fosters technology innovation and startups’ growth in Catalonia.

Spain's first social impact investment fund Creas Foundation invests in business projects which prioritize the creation of social and environmental value. It acts as an investor and partner in financial, management and strategic decisions. Its goal is to facilitate access to funding and accelerate growth of social businesses which have an innovative approach and sustainable income model. It has fixed a target of €30m to invest in social enterprise startups. The fund offers participatory loans or capital injections ranging from €5,000 to €25,000.

Italy's first impact investment fund is focused mainly on assisting Italian startups. Its investment size ranges from €200,000 to €6m. Oltre Venture was founded in 2006 as Oltre Venture I by Luciano Balbo and Lorenzo Allevi, both pioneers in Europe's impact investing ecosystem and each with extensive experience in investment banking, corporate finance and VC firms.In 2016, the company launched a second investment vehicle (Oltre Venture II) which currently has a portfolio of more than 22 startups.

Phitrust Partenaires is a France-based investment fund focused on social businesses in Europe and Asia.In Europe, the company acts as a VC firm dedicated to impact investing. Its investment vehicle contributes €150,000 to €800,000 to support projects that address social needs. Phitrust Partenaires also works in partnership with prominent European social funds.

The Repsol Foundation, part of the Repsol Group, is committed to improving social and environmental outcomes.Repsol has launched a €50m social investment fund to be used in developing a portfolio of social enterprises focused on energy transition and social inclusion of vulnerable groups in Spain. The firm invested €9,5m during 2018. 

Ship2B is an accelerator and investor for social impact startups and spin-offs. It acts principally in three sectors: health tech, social tech for vulnerable groups and climate technology. It also fosters networking alliances between startups and large companies, and has a network of high-level mentors available to assist startups.To date, Ship2B has invested €40m in 146 startups and spin-offs.  

The Hague-based social impact investor invests in the areas of environment, economic inclusion, health and well-being and follows the socio-economic principles of the United Nation’s Global Social Development Goals. The VC was established in 2019 and to date has invested in four companies. Its most recent investments have been in agritech sustainability monitoring platform Satelligence’s $2.3m seed round and AI-powered sustainable recruiting platform Equalture’s €1m seed round. 

The Rise Fund is a $2bn impact investing fund co-founded by U2 front man Bono, Bill McGlashan and Jeff Skoll. The fund has partnered with nonprofit consultancy The Bridgespan Group to develop an evidence-based model for quantifying the impact of the firm’s investments.The global impact investment vehicle is managed by TPGGrowth, part of the multibillion-dollar investment firm TPG that focuses on growth equity investments and mid-market buyouts. As of December 2019, the fund has deployed $1.4bn across its investment portfolio.

Founded in 2018, Oslo-based Katapult Ocean is the first investor focused entirely on oceantech and related startups. The VC also operates a three-month accelerator and has invested in 32 startups from 17 countries worldwide.The VC typically invests at the seed or pre-seed level but in July 2020 it completed its first Series A round of $8.5m investment in Chilean social enterprise Betterfly. Other recent investments include the pre-seed rounds of US foodtech GreenCover and Dutch offshore solar tech SolarDuck.

Yangon-based social impact investor Phandeeyar Accelerator was born out of Code for Change Myanmar, a series of hackathons in 2014 and its accelerator is the Yangon chapter of Founder Institute.  It is a keen part of Myanmar’s nascent tech ecosystem.With a $2m fund, the VC began investing in local startups in 2017 with a maximum funding of $25,000. It has invested in 17 companies including restaurant booking app Resdi and apartment sharing app Nay Var.

Founded in 2019 in Silicon Valley, Concrete Rose is focused on diversity by investing in under-represented founders and companies serving under-represented consumers at the early-stage and across market segments.  It currently has 14 companies in its portfolio and its most recent investments in January 2021 include the $3.5m seed round of inclusive car insurer Loop and in the $17.1m seed round of HR analytics software Syndio 

Mercy Corps’ Social Venture Fund is a seed and early-stage social impact fund operated by not-for-profit humanitarian organization Mercy Corps. The US-based organization is increasingly moving into tech investments, with key interests in agtech and fintech solutions creating social impact. FinX, a platform designed to accelerate financial inclusion worldwide, was also launched recently. Distributed ledgers, digital assets, cryptocurrencies and other digital financial solutions will be deployed to alleviate poverty in local communities. The fund has invested in 16 companies at the seed stage. Investments in the February 2021 included a pre-seed round for Kenyan healthcare fintech platform ImaliPay. In December 2020, it joined a $5.3m seed round for Colombian remittance tech Valiu.

Beyond Investing is a Geneva-based firm investing in early-stage venture capital and equity growth startups mainly in European developed markets. With average investments of €200,000, the firm’s core investment strategy focuses on sustainability with an investment period lasting 5–10 years.The impact investor targets innovative startups involved in vegan, cruelty-free and plant-based alternatives; biotechnologies, foodtech, new materials, clothing and lifestyle sectors. Successful portfolio foodtechs include Mosa Meat, BlueNalu and Shiok Meats.With a team of vegan finance professionals in the US and Europe, Beyond Investing listed the first US Vegan Climate ETF (VEGN) on the New York Stock Exchange in September 2019. The ETF tracks Beyond Investing’s US Vegan Climate Index which covers an index of 495 of the largest-capitalization companies in the US stock market. The ethical investment option aims to exclude stocks in companies with activities that are not aligned with its vegan-themed, cruelty-free and fossil-fuel-free investing ethos.

Not-for-profit social impact investor, Rabo Foundation, is a subsidiary of Rabobank based in the Netherlands. The bank specializes in sustainability-oriented banking, food and agriculture financing.Founded in Utrecht in 1974, Rabo Foundation actively invests in the Netherlands and 22 emerging markets across Africa, Asia and Latin America. It mainly focuses on funding for social enterprises, especially savings and credit cooperatives and producer organizations for smallholder farmers. It currently has investments in 26 startups including participation in AgroCenta’s $790,000 seed round in January 2021. Rabo has also pumped in $500,000 in Dutch fintech Geldfit.nl, a debt prevention and counseling app service.

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