3.
Our impact strategy
In this section
We believe a brighter future is possible
Impact is at the core of what we do at Ananda. We invest for outcomes that have the potential to deliver impact globally.
We are impact generalists. We believe the world’s biggest challenges cannot be solved in isolation. That is why we invest in technological solutions with the potential to improve entire industries, regardless of their sector.
Our portfolio reflects our goal of protecting people and our planet by solving the world biggest challenges at scale. Our investments are distributed across the impact spectrum and address the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 7 Planetary Boundaries.
The Ananda Portfolio By Capital Invested
By diversifying our investments across different areas, we can increase our impact. Here are some our latest investments:
Protecting the planet by monitoring greenhouse gases from space
Methane, contributes to over 30 percent of the current global warming we are witnessing. At Ananda we strongly believe in the role of Earth Observation and New Space to mitigate Climate Change.
Leading a revolution in biodiversity data
Human activity has led to a 83% loss of wild mammal biomass and 50% decline in plant biomass. At Ananda we believe that measuring precise losses and assessing the global impacts will lead to solutions to preserve our planet natural resources and biodiversity.
Improving patient outcomes through personalised dosage
Medical costs of—and mortality—due to non-optimised medication therapy are estimated at USD 530 billion in the US annually. At Ananda we believe that combining precision medicine with digital therapeutics will save costs and lead to better patient outcomes.
Enabling Zero Waste
Every year, 80 million tonnes of waste are generated in the German manufacturing and service industries alone. This results in an estimated 27 million tons of CO2 emissions per annum. At Ananda, we believe that digitizing and optimizing waste management is an necessary step toward a zero-waste future.
Making entrepreneurial education more accessible
Every year, more than 5 million businesses are started in the US alone. However, people’s backgrounds still play a disproportionate role in entrepreneurship. At Ananda we believe entrepreneurship should be accessible for all.
Our Impact Journey
Impact is a key part of our investment process. In every investment we make, the business potential is assessed alongside its potential for impact. We then set impact KPIs with our portfolio companies and constantly measure them to ensure positive impact is created from start to exit.
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First meeting
- Is the venture impactful? Are founders mission-driven?
- Is impact measurable and inherently baked into the business model?
- Is the solution scalable?
- What are the risks? Can the company cause harm?
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Team review
- Deal presentation to the team
- Initial discussion about fit with Ananda’s scope
- Collect feedback and define focus areas for further impact due diligence
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Impact Assessment
- Structured analysis of impact focus & risks
- Theory of change
- Potential impact KPIs
- SDGs alignment
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Due diligence outcomes
- Verification of impact assessment
- Impact Map
- Define impact value chain
- Output and outcome definitions
- Alignment with founders on impact KPIs
- Review by Impact Advisor
- Approval process with Advisory Committee
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Impact Termsheet
- Impact requirement clause
- Diversity clause
- Founder’s health clause
- Environmental footprint clause
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Deal signing
- Welcome to Ananda
- Set-up of Impact KPIs targets
- Impact KPIs approval by Impact Advisory Committee
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Investment Duration
- Yearly Impact KPI tracking
- Yearly reporting
- ESG support
- Collect feedback and revisit KPIs as the business evolves
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Exit
- Impact review
- Celebrating outcomes
Our approach to ESG measurement
At Ananda we strongly support the notion that all companies should incorporate aspects of ESG, meaning that business should be conducted in a fair, inclusive and planet-friendly way. And this does not only apply to our portfolio companies, but also to all of us at Ananda.
In order to walk this talk we cover ESG topics as early as possible in our investment processes and we include clauses on Diversity and Inclusion, Environmental Footprint and Founders’ Health in the termsheets to be signed by our portfolio companies.
Being an active member of VentureESG, Leaders for Climate Action and DiversityVC, we are in constant exchange with our peers to develop and observe best practices with regards to ESG compliance, ESG reporting, and ESG actions both for us and for our portfolio companies.
To further strengthen and formalise our approach we have streamlined our ESG data collection and reporting. In this way we have gone one step further than just collecting the data for the sake of regulatory compliance (SFDR Disclosure). We have added some selected KPIs which we deem as especially relevant for early-stage startups.
We are an SFDR Article 9 fund
At Ananda we believe the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) is a step in the right direction to enhance transparency and promote sustainable investments.
We follow a sustainable objective within all of our funds. In fact, we’ve been dedicated to sustainable practices well before Article 9 even came into existence. Our latest Article 9 fund Ananda Impact Fund IV was closed in 2022 with 108m EUR in total.
Our efforts go beyond compliance; we strive to make a positive impact on the environment and society through all of our investments.
SFDR is a great step forward in combatting greenwashing and we are very happy to be listed in this Sifted article with many other VC funds that are committed to contributing to a more sustainable future.
Zoe Peden
Partner
Ananda Impact Ventures
Read more on MediumMaking a measurable, impactful difference to this world through entrepreneurship and innovative technology at scale is what drives me.”
My Journey from Welfare to Venture Capital Partner