A group of 120 venture capital firms from across Europe have formed a new initiative, called ImpactVC, to champion environmental and social impact.
The UK-based VCs that signed up to the group are Balderton, Northzone, ADA Ventures, BGF, Atomico, Ascension, Hambro Perks, Zinc, Octopus Ventures, Eka Ventures and Backed.
The combined ImpactVC cohort has £12bn in assets under management.
“We are seeing companies with huge potential to scale and develop appear in the impact venture space,” said Anna Skarborg, head of sustainability at Northzone.
“At the same time, we need to better understand how to combine this potential with our generalist platform and traditional focus.”
ImpactVC has produced the “VC Impact Playbook” to give venture capital firms information on creating impact strategies, investing in impact businesses and overseeing impact investments.
Europe is currently home to 42 impact unicorns according to ImpactVC, up from 15 in 2019.
The group was started by the London-based impact investor Big Society Capital and is managed by Arfah Farooq.
Jon Coker, founding partner at Eka Ventures, said: “The best methods for creating positive outcomes are constantly evolving and by pooling our ideas, expertise and experience we can create an ecosystem that is effective as possible for investors, startups and society as a whole.”
Sponsorship for ImpactVC has come from BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt, NCM Fund Services, Taylor Vinters, Vauban, Katapult Foundation, Morgan Lewis, and Amazon Web Services.
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