Liberty Global Ventures to Invest $2 Million in Specialist Positive Impact Investment Firm to Deliver Seed Funding to Start-Ups Tackling the Global Challenges of Climate Change and Economic Inequality
Liberty Global Ventures, the investment arm of Liberty Global (NASDAQ: LBTYA, LBTYB and LBTYK), a world leader in converged video, broadband and communications services, has struck a strategic partnership with specialist impact investment firm Avesta Capital which will see it initially invest $2 million to help promote diversity and inclusion and tackle the global challenges of climate change and inequality. With this close, Avesta Capital has now raised over 80% of its target $20 million fund.
Avesta will use the capital to provide seed investment to start-ups that specifically offer scalable solutions to issues such as boosting economic opportunity or aiding the fight against climate change. Avesta also has a policy of prioritizing support for entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds.
Avesta’s fund aims to bridge the technology start-up and impact investing ecosystems, providing specialist expertise to help technology companies that can have significant impact at scale connect with impact investors. Start-ups backed by the Avesta Fund include Line Financial,working to improve the financial well-being and inclusion of people who work in the gig economy and WattBuy, who help improve access to cheaper and cleaner electricity for renters across America.
Liberty Global Ventures has investments in more than 75 companies and funds in the fields of content, technology and infrastructure. The group’s technology investments are scalable across international markets, with deals ranging in size from $5 million to $30 million. Its portfolio includes a number of innovative and high growth companies such as Aviatrix, Lacework, Pax8, Pensando and Plume.
Alongside the new strategic partnership with the Avesta Fund, Liberty Global is a founding member of the European Green Digital Coalition and also featured in the influential Dow Jones Sustainability World index for the eighth year in 2020. The company was also awarded leadership status by CDP Global (formerly known as the Carbon Disclosure Project) in its most recent annual survey into climate change and carbon emissions.
John Gowen, Managing Director, Liberty Global Ventures, comments: “Building on our strong sustainability credentials, this strategic partnership allows us to be early backers of companies that are tackling some of the biggest and most pressing issues facing society. We look forward to working with Avesta to help support companies that will deliver lasting positive impact, as well as superior financial returns.”
Soraya Loerts, Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, Liberty Global, adds: “Driving equality of opportunity and supporting diversity is core to life at Liberty Global. We’re pleased to extend this to supporting start-ups that reflect our own values around diversity, equity and inclusion, and working with Avesta to encourage entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds to scale up and make a difference.”
Srikant Vasan, Managing Partner, Avesta Capital, adds: “Avesta combines profit and purpose, a combination that we believe is a lot more powerful, sustainable and scalable than pure philanthropy and more meaningful than pure profit-making. By supporting entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds, we aim to reduce the inequalities faced by those who have historically experienced difficulties getting access to capital, while at the same time delivering positive returns.”
ABOUT LIBERTY GLOBAL
Liberty Global (NASDAQ: LBTYA, LBTYB and LBTYK) is a world leader in converged broadband, video and mobile communications services. We deliver next-generation products through advanced fiber and 5G networks that connect over 85 million subscribers across Europe and the United Kingdom. Our businesses operate under some of the best-known consumer brands, including Virgin Media-O2 in the UK, VodafoneZiggo in the Netherlands, Telenet in Belgium, Sunrise UPC in Switzerland, Virgin Media in Ireland and UPC in Eastern Europe. Through our substantial scale and commitment to innovation, we are building Tomorrow’s Connections Today, investing in the infrastructure and platforms that empower our customers to make the most of the digital revolution, while deploying the advanced technologies that nations and economies need to thrive.
Our consolidated businesses generate annual revenue of more than $7 billion, while our joint-ventures in the UK and the Netherlands generate combined annual revenue of more than $17 billion.
Liberty Global Ventures, our global investment arm, has a portfolio of more than 75 companies and funds across content, technology and infrastructure, including strategic stakes in companies like Plume, ITV, Lions Gate, Univision and the Formula E racing series.
Revenue figures above are provided based upon 2020 results and on a combined Virgin Media and O2 UK basis. For more information, please visit www.libertyglobal.com.
ABOUT AVESTA CAPITAL
Avesta Capital helps address humanity’s biggest challenges of inequality and climate change by bridging the tech startup and impact investing ecosystems, while prioritizing diverse founders. Avesta’s Seed Impact Investing at Scale model aims to deliver top venture returns and measurable impact – by combining data-driven investment approaches used by leading Seed-at-Scale investors like Techstars and 500 Startups with best-practice impact alignment methods used by leading impact investors like MacArthur and Omidyar.
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