Ingmar Rentzhog’s Post

While private market LPs are holding out from the market, public sector LPs are more important than ever. Public investors like EIF and KFW are stepping up to support Europe's VC landscape, especially critical during economic uncertainties. We invited David Dana of EIF and Christian Roehle of KFW, as well as Joe Schorge of Isomer Capital and Michael Sidgmore of Broadhaven Venture to have a discussion for The State of European Fundraising Report. Here's why we think their support matters for the ecosystem. Brings stability in uncertain times. Public investors provide crucial support, ensuring promising VC funds get a foothold even in downturns. It's shifting our focus. Their investments are increasingly targeting sustainability, climate tech, and disruptive innovation (deep tech, AI, etc.). It creates a lifeline for emerging funds. Public involvement is often vital for not just the first closing of funds but for their very existence. Learn how to navigate the effects of the #TechReset. Get insights from The State of European Fundraising Report. https://buff.ly/3KJ23W3 Delivered to you by EUVC | Isomer Capital | Floww. #EUVC #fundraising #venturecapital #industryreport

This week the Ārohia Grant 2.0 opened for applications. As programme lead I was reflecting on why we were so well prepared come launch day. Even a week prior, the core team stand-up vibe was light. It’s a nice feeling, and not always the case in go to market activity with so many moving parts. My reflection, which isn’t news, but a helpful reminder in everything I do: 1. Plan as a team, plan with ambition and make the plan really easy to look at. 2. Be conscious about decisions that take you out of scope, yes there is magic in the new ideas, but time isn’t magic and every thing is a trade off. 3. Make your milestones public along the way for ongoing delivery discipline… like how Xerocon, or tax filing deadlines were so fixed in my past life at Xero. It focuses the mind and galvanises the team. Thanks to the epic team Spencer Willis, Sharon, Michael Seymour, Julie, Stu and Katea for trusting me to bring us together and delivering round two of this game changing grant. In December when we wanted to ease out of the year and go to the pub we didn’t, we had the discipline to meet our milestones, and now we’re seeing benefits as we share this grant with  customers who will change the landscape of innovation for Aotearoa.

The second #climate feature in our series is Prime Coalition—a U.S.-based nonprofit, that is both a C3 grantee and an investment field partner. Prime aggregates and deploys #catalyticcapital toward deeply impactful climate ventures and projects that have significant potential to mitigate gigaton-scale greenhouse gas emissions and that might otherwise struggle to raise sufficient support.   Prime Impact Fund, for example, is a $50 million equity fund that invests in early-stage innovative technologies that can grow into planetarily impactful companies that are the pillars of a low-carbon economy. The fund is part of C3’s investment program with the MacArthur Foundation.   With support from C3, Prime developed a catalytic capital resource library for philanthropists and prospective catalytic fund managers. Prime also used the library as course materials for a pilot executive education course that it developed and ran in collaboration with MIT in early 2023. ➡ Visit Prime’s resource library: https://lnkd.in/gqPBaBem ➡ Check out work on the pilot training course: https://lnkd.in/gq9jRAmG ➡ Read more about the Prime Impact Fund: https://lnkd.in/eDnFEMh (find more about MacArthur's investment: https://lnkd.in/grWJMMg6 ) ➡ ICYMI, Prime Founder Sarah Kearney recently penned a piece for Inside Philanthropy, outlining ways for nonprofits to attract and deploy catalytic capital for impact: https://lnkd.in/dTikjW-p #climatephilanthropy #impactinvesting #climatefinance

Investing in women affects change on a global scale, benefitting us all.  Generation has graduated 100,000 students  – 50,000 in the last two years – from their career skills training program, who have earned $1 billion in wages since 2015. This income has helped them transform their lives: improve their well-being, support their families, save for the future, and give back to their communities. By recruiting, training, and supporting 14,800 Early Learning Practitioner franchisees to deliver their evidence-based programming, SmartStart South Africa has reached 172,000 children with quality early learning – dramatically improving education outcomes while creating employment and social enterprise opportunities in under-resourced communities. More than 10,440 women entrepreneurs in Africa have built sustainable clean energy businesses through Solar Sister, providing more than 4.7 million people in last-mile communities with access to clean energy and mitigating 1.6 million metric tons of CO2 emissions. Through 70,000 digital communities of parents and daycare center workers and partnerships with 60 districts in India, Rocket Learning directly reaches 1.5 million children daily with high-quality early education programs – ensuring their students, regardless of location or socio-economic status, are prepared for a bright future. It’s because of empowered women leaders like Mona Mourshed, Grace Matlhape, Katherine Lucey, and Namya Mahajan, that impact at this scale is possible.

Our most-said sentence right now? "You gotta look funded to get funded" Investors in the sustainability space want to fund the tech that will change the world. They also want to brag about it. They want to: 👉 show it off to their colleagues. 👉 explain it to their spouses. 👉 share it with their friends. That's why you can inspire investors with a good pitch, but when your website and your external comms aren't up to snuff, potential investors can't replicate your enthusiasm. So even if you don't lose the funds you earned, it's unlikely that investor networks fund your projects. We get it. That's why we are the best team to share your message, so you can find the investors you need to bring your project to scale. Tag a business ready to scale in the comments! #fundraising #marketingplan #startupworld #businessguide #greatoffers #marketingpartners #businesstobusiness #websitemarketingtips #greenbusinessnetwork

Investment migration, also known as migration by investment, is a fascinating concept that's gaining traction worldwide. Essentially, it's a trade-off: you invest in a country, often through a donation or property purchase, and in return, you gain residency or citizenship. This opens up a world of possibilities, from easier travel to new business opportunities. 🌍 Before this year, I didn't know much about investment migration, but as I've learned more, I've become increasingly intrigued by its potential. If you're curious about how investment migration could benefit you, consider following MOVEANYWHERE for insights and information. #investmentmigration #moveanywhere #citizenship #residency

Laurence Mehaignerie was invited at #FundsForChange to reflect on what Citizen Capital has achieved since her last pitch at ChangeNOW back in 2022. Here are the key takeways :   ➡ We know that Impact investing can perform well financially (very proud of our portfolio, including ipso santé  OpenClassrooms or Deepki). ➡ In 2022, ChangeNOW helped us highlight the fact that VC or PE funds have their limits when it comes to answering tough challenges. We need to have different #strategies but we also need to imagine different #businessmodels for funds. And we have successfully raised the 2 "out of the box" funds we presented at #FundsForChange! 👩🌾 The first fund, Agri Impact, helps farmers diversify their activities and revenues (renewable energies, primary processing). 💡 The second fund, Citizen CIS, invests in nonprofits that undertake ambitious programs to foster innovation in public policies. What happened since? 🎯 We all know the environmental transition is a huge technological, financial and industrial challenge. But it’s documented, and today we know where we should allocate capital. 🤝 BUT, what we do not know is what the social impact of this transition will be. No transition is going to happen if the people feel this tremendous change is leaving them on the side, increasing inequalities.    The environmental transition is also a social challenge. And we were thrilled to announce the launch of a new fund dedicated to early-stage projects that support a Fair Transition, around basic fundamental needs : Food, Housing, Mobility.   Thanks to Marie Suduca, Marine Jouët and Imène Maharzi for their help & insights 😊

Join Transformative 25 on Wednesday, November 15th at 11am PT/ 2pm ET for their Place-Based Funds Webinar. RSVP HERE: https://lnkd.in/e-eD7KXa We're bringing together some leading innovative minds to share their insights and contributions to transforming our financial landscape in unique locations for the benefit of people and the planet. You won't want to miss their stories and strategies! 🔹 Aina Aloha Economy Fund •Aina Aloha focuses on regenerative agriculture, renewable energy, and sustainable land use, driving economic growth while nurturing Hawaii's unique cultural and environmental heritage. 🔹 Cooperative Fund of the Northeast •This cooperative invests in organizations that promote economic justice, cooperative ownership, and community development across the Northeastern United States. 🔹 Northern Forest Fund •Committed to building a thriving future for both people and place in the Northern Forest region, this fund invests in initiatives such as housing for young families, expanded broadband, downtown infrastructure and forest stewardship. 🔹 Cuchubal Finance Development Fund •Cuchubal empowers underserved communities through financial support, fostering development, and economic independence with a focus on equity and inclusivity. You won't want to miss their stories and strategies! RSVP HERE: https://lnkd.in/e-eD7KXa #Sustainability #Transformative25 #FinanceForGood #ImpactInvesting #EconomicTransformation #SustainableFinance #SocialResponsibility #FinancialInnovation #GreenEconomy

100 funds by 2028, #11, 89 to go (#92 on hold 🇵🇸). I aim to support 100 impact investing funds by 2028. This time I’m cheating a bit, but it comes with a good story. Bare with me! Little over a week ago Impact Europe (having changed it’s name from EVPA) organized its annual gathering #impactweek2023, when almost 900 impact professionals gathered in #Torino. Having (co-)managed an impact fund and through working with and for emerging managers since 2016, I know fundraising is an enormous challenge. The first funder that joins is a milestone, that pushes you to continue. Often this ends up to be driven by one or two bold individuals in such an organization. Long story short: at impact week I ran into Till Wahnbaeck - back then the ceo of our first external investor (after initiator Hivos) in the Food Fund led by Hivos Impact Investments. Leading the way for others to follow! And guess what: he now manages an impact fund. Or as he put it: “Impacc is an NGO that thinks it’s a VC”: they provide financial, technical, and operational support to startups in areas of extreme poverty, helping them develop their business models and scale their impact. 💪 Maybe not a fund I supported directly, but certainly one that deserves the spotlight as a venture fund that dares to be concessional on finance, but remains laserfocussed on Impact. Keep it up, Till (and Jochen 👋) #100funds, #100impactfunds #impacttogether #impactweek #impinv #impactinvesting Jochen Moninger, Jaap Spreeuwenberg, Keith Wallace, 🕊️✌️Ewa Konczal

Join Transformative 25 on Wednesday, November 15th at 11am PT/ 2pm ET for their Place-Based Funds Webinar. RSVP HERE: https://lnkd.in/e-eD7KXa We're bringing together some leading innovative minds to share their insights and contributions to transforming our financial landscape in unique locations for the benefit of people and the planet. You won't want to miss their stories and strategies! 🔹 Aina Aloha Economy Fund •Aina Aloha focuses on regenerative agriculture, renewable energy, and sustainable land use, driving economic growth while nurturing Hawaii's unique cultural and environmental heritage. 🔹 Cooperative Fund of the Northeast •This cooperative invests in organizations that promote economic justice, cooperative ownership, and community development across the Northeastern United States. 🔹 Northern Forest Fund •Committed to building a thriving future for both people and place in the Northern Forest region, this fund invests in initiatives such as housing for young families, expanded broadband, downtown infrastructure and forest stewardship. 🔹 Cuchubal Finance Development Fund •Cuchubal empowers underserved communities through financial support, fostering development, and economic independence with a focus on equity and inclusivity. You won't want to miss their stories and strategies! RSVP HERE: https://lnkd.in/e-eD7KXa #Sustainability #Transformative25 #FinanceForGood #ImpactInvesting #EconomicTransformation #SustainableFinance #SocialResponsibility #FinancialInnovation #GreenEconomy