🌍Newsletter - October 2024
Welcome to the 11th edition of the AFI Ventures’ newsletter.
As a reminder, AFI Ventures (fund managed by Ventech) is an impact VC fund that invests in pre-seed/seed startups with a strong environmental and social ambition, producing a systemic change. We invest once a month in France & Europe tickets ranging from €250K to €500K.
Each month in this newsletter, you'll find a summary of 2 articles on the impact ecosystem that have caught our attention, fundraisings realised by impact start-ups in France, and news from our portfolio. 💚
👀 What Caught our eye
Social impact: the overlooked side of venture capital
By Camille Wong
While impact investing has grown rapidly in France, with the number of "impact funders" doubling in three years, social impact ventures are still on the sidelines.
Despite increased interest, most investments remain focused on environmental issues. Social impact funds, like Phitrust and Impact Partners, operate with smaller investments.
Challenges for Social Impact Ventures
Scaling social impact ventures is harder due to:
Human-Centered Models: Social startups rely more on human interaction, making them less scalable than tech-centered models.
Investor Reluctance: Lower returns (5-7%) and longer timeframes make investors hesitant.
The Importance of Social Impact funds
As Mathieu Cornieti of Impact Partners notes:
Climate Change is Social: It affects communities, jobs, and inclusion, so it needs a social focus.
Fragile Business Models: Social startups, focused on employment and inclusion, often have weaker business models and rely on grants or government support.
Measuring Social Impact is Tricky
A key challenge for social impact funds is measuring success:
No Standard Metrics: Social impact is harder to quantify compared to environmental metrics like carbon emissions.
Long-Term Commitment: These investments take longer to mature, needing patient capital.
At AFI Ventures, we truly believe that a sustainable future depends on both social and environmental impact. We're committed to keeping social impact at the heart of what we do, just like we've done with projects like Jinko, Kor, Tantor, Chilli, Colette, or Captain Cause.
If you know any entrepreneurs making a positive social impact, we’d love to meet them— feel free to reach out!
Carbon Challenges and Regulation: Cross Perspectives Between Europe and the US
Europe is the Climate Regulation Leader
Ursula von der Leyen re-elected as head of the EU, continuing the Green Deal. Targets: 55% emissions reduction by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050.
CSRD Directive (2024): Carbon reporting extended to companies with over 250 employees, covering direct (Scope 1) and indirect emissions (Scope 2 & 3).
EU ETS (Emissions Trading System) and mandatory carbon accounting are key to making markets more efficient.
The United States hav Subsidy-driven Approach
Inflation Reduction Act (2022): $370 billion for green energy, electrification of transportation, and reshoring industries tied to EVs and solar.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) mandates climate risk disclosures, but only for large corporations and limited to Scope 1 and 2 emissions. In California (SB253), from 2026, businesses with over $1 billion in revenue must report all GHG emissions.
Tech Rivalry: Europe/US/China
China remains the world’s largest polluter (coal dependence) but invests heavily in green tech, aiming for carbon neutrality by 2060.
Challenging sectors: Heavy industries (steel, cement, fertilizers) lack cost-effective alternatives.
Automotive as a model: Transition driven by emissions performance mandates and penalties, making electric vehicles financially attractive to consumers.
We moving toward CO2 monetization. Capitalism cannot change unless CO2 emissions and environmental degradation are integrated into pricing. Without monetizing avoided emissions or CO2 reductions, current carbon accounting efforts will have limited impact.
Portfolio companies like Estuaire, Kompozite, Optimiz, Revcoo, and Spotlight are among the key players contributing to the global effort to address the carbon challenge.
🍃 AFI Ventures - Main Highlights
AFI Ventures’ Public Investments in September
Jinko 🇫🇷 - ( 2M€ / 360 Capital, AFI Ventures, business angels) Platform designed for people with cancer to offer them supportive care.
Investment rationale:
Market opportunity with a €4B addressable market in France alone, expanding to €100B across Europe with a CAGR of 25%.
Demonstrating early results with a +40% average improvement in quality of life.
Execution-driven founding team (Faustine, Anthony) with deep expertise in patient care, and product development, already delivering high satisfaction (4.7/5).
Bohr Energie 🇫🇷 - (€4M/Founders Future, Varsity) An automated trader/aggregator platform for real-time optimization and market integration of renewable assets.
Investment rationale:
Bohr is already managing substantial renewable energy capacity.
€4bn Sales Potential: France’s 32.5 GW renewable energy market presents a significant opportunity.
With the support of the French Renewable Energies Acceleration Act, and the many approvals and certifications that Bohr has received the company has a solid framework.
The founders (Julien, Luis, and Julien), are ex-EDF Trading, and their founder-market fit brings industry knowledge and strategic vision to the company.
Recent News from our portfolio
Dionymer is hiring a permanent position in Production Technician in Biotech/Chemistry - Link
Jinko raises €2M in seed funding to continue its growth - Link
Nova Carbon has opened its brand-new laboratory - Link
Optimiz is recruiting an Operations Research Engineer - Link
CarbonX closed an oversubscribed round with ENGIE New Ventures amongs others reinforcing its leadership in Permanent Carbon Removals - Link
Captain Cause joined the "RSE-ponsable" toolbox by Welcome to the Jungle - Link
Green PRAXIS joined the WWF's "Entreprendre pour la Planète" club - Link
💰 Early-stage impact rounds in France
Elum Energy (11.8M€ / Energize Capital, Alter Equity, Cota Capital) Energy management solution for hybrid solar installations.
Imadis (10M€ / BAs ) Remote radiology service.
Lokki (6.3M€ / Blisce, 50 Partners Capital, Serena Capital, Makesense, etc) Equipment rental solution.
Bohr Energie (4M€ / Varsity, Founders Future, AFI Ventures ) Platform for aggregating and enhancing independent renewable energy producers.
Neotrucks (3.3M€ / Credit Agricole Transitions Region) Manufacturer of special off-road vehicles from the circular economy.
Willy Anti-Gaspi (2.3M€ / BAs) Organic French products rescued from food waste.
Bib Batterie (2.2M€ / Family Ventures, NextGear Ventures, SuperCapital) Battery management throughout its lifecycle.
Greenscope (2M€ / Épopée gestion, Newfund) Publisher of software for ESG performance reporting and management.
Daurema (1.4M€ / IRD Invest, BAs) Solution for eco-friendly, recyclable, durable, and safe molded cellulose packaging.
Jinko (2M€ / 360 Capital, AFI Ventures, business angels) Support platform for individuals with cancer.
CarbonX (NA / Redstone VC, Engie New Ventures, Profounders Capital) Manager of permanent carbon dioxide removal certificates, and part of our portfolio.
Kiosk (650k€ / BAs) Data collection and analysis software for CSRD compliance.
Luniwave (600k€ / Side Angels , Super Capital , Campus Fund , Inovexus, etc) Water consumption tracking and reduction solution for hotels.
Ezymob (480k€ / BAs) Software solutions to streamline and simplify inclusive user navigation.
🤝 Our Team
Charles Fourault - charles@afi.ventures
Mamadou Dembele - mamadou@afi.ventures
Constantin de Chaudenay - constantin@afi.ventures
Juliette Lelievre - juliette@afi.ventures
Don't hesitate to reach out if you're an impact entrepreneur or just interested in any of these topics. 🍃