The fund will invest in digital business models aimed at boosting the wellbeing of individuals through health and education and is backed by Germany’s Bank für Sozialwirtschaft as its anchor investor
European venture capital firms Redstone and EnjoyVenture have teamed up to launch the Human Impact Capital (HIC) Fund I, which will invest in social impact startups.
The €50m fund will focus on digital, innovative solutions aiming to improve the wellbeing of individuals.
“Even though the most urgent social problems have been evident before the pandemic, Covid has brought the insufficiencies in health and education to the spotlight,” Redstone said in an statement. “Redstone and EnjoyVenture want to seize this momentum to contribute to a more sustainable future.”
HIC’s investment strategy is centred around five Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs): No Poverty, Good Health and Well-being, Quality Education, Gender Equality, and Reduced Inequalities.
The fund will invest in digital business models that either ensure health care and protect the ageing population, boost quality of life and limit loneliness, or ensure access to good education and reduce social inequalities.
“We are convinced that entrepreneurs providing solutions to these problems will generate attractive financial returns for investors while advancing our society and laying the foundation for future generations,” Redstone said.
HIC will be managed by Redstone and EnjoyVenture’s investment team, while its board of advisors will be led by Harald Schmitz, CEO of the fund’s anchor investor Bank für Sozialwirtschaft, and Brigitte Zypries, a former Federal Minister of Economics and Justice of Germany.
Germany’s Bank für Sozialwirtschaft, a specialised commercial bank for companies, institutions and organisations in the areas of health, social services and education, “contributed invaluable insights into the needs of the social sector and was closely involved in defining the fund’s investment strategy”, Redstone said.
