Ananda Impact Ventures closing at funds hardcap with €108m on their 4th Core Impact VC Fund
Munich, 19 May 2022: Ananda Impact Ventures has smashed through the initial target of €75 million and secured €108 million for its fourth Core Impact Fund. As one of Europe’s leading impact venture capitalist firms, Ananda raised €33 million more than it initially targeted with backing from the European Investment Fund (EIF), KfW Capital, Investcorp /Tages, Candriam and several prominent family offices.
Ananda’s success reflects the growing market appetite in supporting technology start-ups that have impact as an integral part of their business model. The impact asset manager has demonstrated an excellent track record with its strong portfolio of companies at the forefront of scaling social, ecological and climate technology innovation and is well-placed to shift gears to build on this to reach an even larger scale.
Ananda has proven that impact investing works
Ananda was founded in 2009 by Johannes Weber and Florian Erber.
Erber believes that the success of the fourth fund is proof that the myths surrounding impact investing are outdated. He commented, “12 years ago the VC industry thought of us as doing philanthropy. Today, our remarkable growth journey, the examples in our thriving portfolio and the portfolio of other Impact VCs shows that we no longer have to prove the case for impact investing. We’ve enjoyed strong exits with high returns, such as the sale of Company Bike or Arbor Education. At the same time, other companies in our portfolio, like Ororatech or IESO Digital Health, are becoming real global leaders in their field, demonstrating that you can combine impact innovation and leadership with tangible, profitable financial results.”
This impact VC is ready to work with the next generation of impact unicorns
Johannes Weber said: “Ananda Impact Ventures is a pioneer in the impact investing space. We have inspired many other funds and fostered the spirit and era of a whole new investment style that advances society and the environment. We are now entering the stage of Impact Investing 2.0. This takes us beyond just identifying suitable ecological or social business models. We want to co-create impact unicorns while deeply resonating with the founders and fully aligning with their mission. At Ananda, we see founders as visionaries, game-changers and the most important asset of a company. This makes us the home for technology entrepreneurs with a big vision who want to create something that matters — for all of us.“
Our latest investments in Resourcify (digitization of waste management), Klim (carbon farming) and Closed Loop Medicine (personalized digital healthcare) are testaments to this vision.
Beyond just “founder-friendly” — Ananda is about “full mission-alignment” with founders
Our financial and impact goals are designed to align with the mission and interests of our founders. We only see carried interest if our companies are successful in both dimensions: Impact and Financial Returns. We have been consistent in our tradition of creating an impact legacy and helping founders maintain mental health and resilience to become successful. The backing from a different set of investors that want to see exactly that impact at scale — gives us a competitive advantage to maintain a culture of supporting entrepreneurs in a more patient and authentic way.
Diversity and Founders Health as core strengths
Zoe Peden, a former entrepreneur, investee in Fund II and now Principal at Ananda Ventures, said; ‘‘My experience in tech as a female founder and CEO exposed me to the positive impact of diverse founders, teams, and investors. Ananda prioritizes diversity, equity, inclusion, and the mental health of our founders. These topics have been integrated into our growth path and internal processes as a team and manifest in the support that we guarantee our portfolio companies. Our ‘‘Diversity VC Level 2’’ rating is way above the industry benchmark. The rating consolidates our position as one of the “go-to-places” for diverse and female founders. The risk of failure, the pressure to deliver results and the ups and downs of running a company mean founders are prone to mental health issues. We want to help founders become a success story by improving their quality of life and helping them navigate the road to resilience.’’
An increasing number of institutional investors are entering the space
Alain Godard, CEO of the European Investment Fund said “Ananda Ventures is a true pioneer with a strong track record in the growing impact investing market in Europe. That we have now invested for the third time in a row is testament to the team’s expertise and knowledge when it comes to supporting impact-focused businesses and securing effective returns.”
Jörg Goschin, Co-CEO and Senior Managing Director of KfW Capital said: ‘‘Verifying the impact isn’t always easy, though, since the impact is rather individual and context specific. This is why the work that Ananda is doing is very important. Experience and a very stable team — that sums it up very nicely. With Ananda, in addition to the high level of professionalism, we especially liked the authenticity of the partners and their impact mission’’.
Samuel de Bousquet, Senior Fund Manager at Candriam said: ‘‘What we want to find, and grow are the champions of tomorrow. That’s exactly what convinced us to invest in Ananda. The combination of an experienced team, strong impact framework and governance, and past vintages is not easy to find.’’
Manuela Cedarmas, Head of ESG & Impact Investing at Investcorp-Tages said: ‘‘For us, it’s definitely experience and reputation, but also the attitude of the partners, the openness to suggestions and the willingness to continuously improve. We also like it if they have innovative investment ideas. What I appreciate very much about Ananda is that they are open to considering our suggestions and eager to achieve the best outcomes.’’
-ENDS-
Editors notes
For further information, please contact:
DACH inquiries: Felix Hilti fh@ananda.vc
UK inquiries: Zoe Peden zp@ananda.vc
Ananda Ventures GmbH
Isarwinkel 6, 81379 München
+49.89.767.75.17.0
About Ananda Impact Ventures
Ananda Impact Ventures is the leading impact venture capital fund with a pan-European investment remit, managing ca. €200 million in four Core Impact Funds, with backing from notable institutional and private investors. Ananda backs technology businesses committed to having a positive impact that answers the most pressing social and ecological challenges of our time, in a way that is both scalable and sustainable. The active portfolio includes Klim (Carbon Farming), Open Bionics (bionic prostheses for children), IESO Digital Health (online psychotherapy) and Ororatech (which uses satellite technology to combat forest fires). For more about Ananda Impact Ventures, visit www.ananda.vc.
