The path to sustainability has been increased in recent times by companies and central governments. It is, without a doubt, one of the most important factors that many have been looking at when creating a company or in the case of venture capital and investment funds, to expand their investments. Mundi Ventures is a venture capital company with an international focus and headquartered in Madrid, which is increasingly focusing on ‘green’ areas. From their specialized ESG area, they assure that close to 80% of global venture capital already incorporates factors like these into their investment.
Yoko Kojima, Associate and Head of ESG at the venture capital firm, joined this fund just over a year ago and is primarily responsible for the intersection between investing and the sustainability impact of the companies in which they are invested. disburse . The expert has made an analysis of the startup sector and the investment ecosystem, and in conversation with La Información, she has indicated that she believes that there are two points that have become key for investors: sustainability and impact.
“I think the ESG part has gone mainstream in the investment sphere. Of course there are many things to do, but I think that everyone is at least aware of the acronyms and how to do things”, settles Kojima. However, on the side of the impact, he considers that it is still not “popular enough”, although it is increasing more and more. For example, in the Mundi Ventures portfolio, they have more than 70 companies under their umbrella globally, and approximately 40% of them are addressing some type of sustainability challenge that can be aligned with the SDGs.
As a venture capitalist, Kojima ensures that they have a clear strategy to invest in ‘green’ companies or those linked to the path of net zero. First, they worry about whether the founder has a clear purpose for it. “The question is whether the purpose of the company is something that we can back up with evidence that it will work well in the long term,” says the expert. Secondly, they have the measurement of climate change as a strategic point and are committed to changes that can go from the smallest to the most important in terms of emissions: “We believe that the smallest steps would make a big change.”
The third focus, and one of the most important for Mundi Ventures, is gender equality and diversity. It’s because it makes business sense, Kojima says, and also because the founders and their general partners care about it. Just like them, other funds have also launched to advocate for sustainability in companies. Seaya Ventures (with Andromeda), Microsoft, Kibo Ventures and other funds have created ‘green’ vehicles specialized in sustainable companies and have injected more than 70 million in Spain.
It is “more attractive” for an investor to bet on a ‘green’ company because they usually have a higher talent retention rate
In this same sense, Kojima comments that he thinks it is “more attractive” for an investor to bet on a company in these fields because they normally have a higher talent retention rate. “They are generally better at branding and having a clear established value, and workers are betting on these types of companies more and more,” he says, adding that his investors are becoming more aware of this. “Many ask me, How can I start on this path? And I think that if we look at which startups have done better in this economic aspect of the recession, it has been the ones related to the climate, “he says.
Broadly in Europe, the head of ESG at Mundi Ventures thinks that Europe is very regulation driven. From the Paris Agreement, to regulations that have been implemented at the country level or organizations such as the IIGCC, among others, companies are increasingly under pressure to achieve sustainability objectives. “In Spain, for example, I think that companies have a great strategy in these areas. Firms like BBVA, Santander with its asset management, Telefónica, other fintechs, among others. The country is growing a lot.”
Kojima will now be part of the ‘0100 Conferences’ events, a space for venture capital and private equity firms in Europe to be held in Rome. In particular, the associate will be presenting in a panel on the impact and ESG in the ecosystem and explaining how the investment world and in particular, Mundi Ventures, are acting in this transition. Thus, she thinks that it is “a very good opportunity to talk about these areas because the local context also matters and while we talk about it on a global scale we can complement ourselves with other countries”, she concludes.
