We are pleased to share that New Summit Impact Fund III (NSIF III) made two new investments in Q1, partnering with Generation IV and Obvious Ventures IV. Below is a summary of each investment.
Generation IV is a leading venture capital strategy that invests in growth-stage, mission-driven companies driving the transition to a sustainable economy. The fund manager, Generation Investment Management, was founded in 2004 by former Vice President Al Gore and three other founding partners. Generation’s established team focuses exclusively on research-based sustainable investment that incorporates systemic social and environmental factors into investment selection and analysis. Generation IV will invest in three impact themes: planetary health, people health, and financial inclusion. These themes align strongly with New Summits’ three impact pillars: sustainability, health, and opportunity. Generation develops research roadmaps within its investment themes to identify future trends in target industries. Sustainability research helps Generation identify companies well-positioned to address sustainability challenges and grow their businesses successfully.
M-KOPA is one such company with a mission to make financing for everyday essentials accessible to everyone. M-KOPA is a provider of pay-as-you-go consumer finance for solar power, smartphones, and small, energy-efficient electrical appliances for off-grid households in rural Africa. There are almost 800 million people globally without access to electricity, 590 million in Africa alone. The majority of these households rely on dirty and expensive fuels to address their basic energy needs. M-KOPA provides an affordable way for off-grid homes to access life-enhancing products such as solar systems. The business model also allows the customer to build a credit history with M-KOPA, which can be used to acquire additional electrical appliances and digital financial services with the company.
Obvious Ventures IV is an early-stage venture fund that invests in startups that reimagine entire industries with new, disruptive solutions in a “world positive” way. Obvious Ventures invests in bold ideas, and companies are positioned to transform vast sectors of the global economy in ways that move the planet forward. Obvious Ventures invests in three pillars: sustainable systems, healthy living, and people power. Before founding Obvious, the firm’s founders had significant entrepreneurial experience leading successful startups in technology, renewable energy, and sustainable consumer products. The firm sources sought-after investment opportunities using its deep relationships within its investment pillars. Obvious Ventures is an active thought leader that publishes points of view on their investment themes via the Obvious Medium site, worldpositive.com.
One example of an Obvious Ventures portfolio company (through Obvious Ventures I) is Diamond Foundry, an above-ground, gem-quality diamond manufacturing company. Diamond mining has detrimental impacts on the environment, including deforestation and erosion, and the diamond mining industry is rife with human rights abuses. The founder of Diamond Foundry, Martin Roscheisen, sought to reimagine the diamond industry, establishing a mining-free diamond foundry that runs exclusively on hydropower. Before founding Diamond Foundry, Martin was a proven entrepreneur who sold his previous company, eGroups, to Yahoo. Diamonds have applications beyond jewelry: with the highest thermal conductivity of any material, they have potent applications in computing and industry, including making computing less energy-intensive. Diamond Foundry is now creating diamond bi-wafer chips for the semiconductor industry, with applications from cloud computing to electric car components.
