Mexican fund Impact Ventures PSM, Promotora Social Mexico‘s impact investment team, and Impacta VC, a Chilean social and environmental impact venture capital firm, launched a strategic alliance for the formation of a new fund called “Impact Ventures PSM Seed” for a value of US$5 million.
The fund will be operated by Impacta VC and expects to invest in 20 Latin American startups in pre-seed and seed stages that generate social and/or environmental impact. The investment thesis includes sectors such as education, health, fair trade, ecosystem development, housing, financial inclusion, agtech and climatech.
The priority will be startups with a technological component and a full-time committed founding team, betting on innovative, scalable and replicable business models that generate positive and sustainable change in society and the environment.
“The main criteria we consider is the positive impact that the company can have in the region and in the world; that is to say that they can, thanks to their products or services, improve the quality of life of the most needy people,” Corinne Lebrun, Managing Partner of Impact Ventures PSM Seed told Contxto.
“We also look for the team to be the right one and to be fully committed to providing the solution to the problem they have chosen to work on. We invest first and foremost in people who are aligned with our values and impact mission,” she added.
With these criteria in mind, they will make investments of between $100,000 and $300,000 USD in the selected startups.
Impact Ventures PSM has been investing in impact projects in Mexico for more than 15 years, with 31 total active investments in the portfolio: 21 direct investments in companies and 10 investments in funds. These investments come from 6 countries: Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil and the United States.
Meanwhile, Impacta VC has built a portfolio of 11 startups in different countries in the region through its Fund I, of $6.6M USD. These include Betterfly, the first social unicorn in Latin America; Airbag, which fights one of the leading causes of death in the world; and Wheel the World, which drives global accessibility from the U.S.
In addition, with three editions of its capital raising program, the Impacta Fundraising Strategy Program (IFSP), it has supported more than 350 startups from 14 Latin American countries.
Strategic support
In addition to the grants, the fund also provides a broad portfolio of connections and advice for the selected startups. “We consider ourselves true partners of the entrepreneurs and we seek to have a continuous collaboration adapted to each need. We have personalized mentoring programs, and we also make our network available, creating connections and a support network,” explains Lebrun.
In this sense, the fund aims to solve a specific and clear problem in the region: the lack of pre-seed and seed capital, which is why this alliance was created to provide them with the financing, support and connections they need to scale.
“The doors are open to build together a future with more opportunities and solutions that transform Latin America,” said David Alvo, CEO and Managing Partner of Impacta VC.
Both organizations share the same vision: to drive innovative and sustainable solutions that transform realities in Latin America.
“Entrepreneurship is a long and often lonely road, so having a support network makes a difference,” added Lebrun, who also emphasized the importance of understanding the difficulties faced by early-stage companies and being present to help them solve them.
“We want entrepreneurs to have enough confidence with us to tell us when things are not going well and ask us for help, because they know we can provide them thanks to the large network of mentors we have in Latin America,” he said.
Regarding social and environmental impact investment opportunities, Lebrun noted that Latin America presents unique challenges that, in turn, generate significant opportunities. “The more difficulties and challenges we have in the region, the more opportunities we see to invest in sectors that need disruption because we are not doing things right,” he explained.
Among the most promising sectors, he mentioned education, health and basic services, highlighting the need to make them accessible to all. Finally, he emphasized the challenges of climate change. “We cannot forget about all the effects that climate change brings with it, especially for the most vulnerable population,” the investor concluded.
Add a comment
