Paul Richardson, President of Renewal2 Investment Fund, announced today the first close of the Fund at over $16 Million. Renewal2 is one of a handful of funds in North America that focus on companies which have positive environmental, social and financial returns. The Fund builds on 15 years’ experience of high-impact social investing at Renewal Partners where early capital was deployed in leading local Vancouver companies, such as Happy Planet and SPUD, and North American leaders such as Stonyfield Farms and Seventh Generation.
“We are delighted to be able to announce this close as it enables us to start to fund and nurture the growth of a next generation of companies in our sectors, which include organic and natural foods, green consumer products, green building, social media, and social finance. The decisions we make about what we eat, how we build and clean our houses, and where we source our products, all have large consequences for the planet. The Renewal2 sectors are underserved by the North American venture community which presents a great opportunity as they are expected to grow much faster than the rest of the economy.”
Renewal2 will be leveraging its strong network across North America to find leading companies in its sectors and is looking for portfolio of 15 to 20 deals split between the US and Canada. Renewal2 expects to start funding companies during the summer and will continue to raise capital for the second and final close at the end of the year.
Rob Lewis
Rob is the President of Techvibes Media Inc. and Editor-in-Chief of Techvibes.com.
His diverse background includes stints in International Trade Finance, Web Development, and Enterprise Software and he is a graduate of the University of British Columbia, British Columbia Institute of Technology, and Simon Fraser University.
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