Sydney-based VC Stoic Venture Capital has called for more emphasis on diversity and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) in thefinancing of early-stage companies.
Stoic has been registered as an Early-Stage Venture Capital Limited Partnership (ESVCLP), using its relationships in the venture capital industry to collaborate in investments for the highest potential companies that will serve a global market. Atlas Advisors Australia AFOF is the major limited partner for the fund.
Recent disasters such as the pandemic and NSW floods and bushfires have led more investors even further towards socially responsible investing.
Investors are taking proactive steps to urge fund managers and companies to do more and be more transparent about advancing real change.
Dr Geoff Waring, Partner at Stoic Venture Capital.
Investors have turned to socially responsible investing strategies that allocate more towards companies in sectors such as healthcare and technology addressing such challenges as climate change. Investors are increasingly looking to deals that work towards positive social goals and are seeking more rigorous reporting from companies about how they achieve these goals.
Another area which investors are keenly focusing on is diversity and inclusion in line with increasing community concern about progress towards equality. Investors understand that companies which prioritise gender diversity are more socially sustainable in the longer term.
“To answer the sustainability wishes of the public, large fund managers and individual wealthy sophisticated investors are looking at allocating more to venture capital managers as they invest in nimble and fast-growing startups that target big unmet environmental and social needs,” said Geoff Waring, Partner at Stoic Venture Capital.
High-performing venture capital firms concentrate on innovative and economically viable solutions to society’s big problems. They tend to support more established companies using mature technologies, sometimes with poorer environmental and social outcomes. Socially responsible venture capital investments can generate attractive returns, as well as do good, however it is important that investors are careful when selecting the right VC managers.
“You must be rigorous in assessing whether a venture capital manager invests in genuine socially responsible startups, and still has the ability to generate superior returns,” said Geoff Waring.
Venture capital managers select companies that value diversity along with solving social problems or that also offer sustainable solutions. In the long run, these companies offer investors attractive returns along with the comfort that their funds are working towards the greater good.
Stoic Venture Capital’s investments:
- Cardihab (Digital cardiac rehab);
- Ena Therapeutics (Enhancing immunity to fight respiratory diseases);
- Certa Therapeutics (Drug for treating kidney disease);
- Wildlife Drones (Drones tracking animals);
- Agerris (Agricultural robots);
- Kinoxis (Addiction rehabilitation);
- Occurx (Drug to treat eye damage from diabetes);
- Que Oncology (Breast cancer side effects treatment);
- Ferronova (Magnetic nanoparticles for cancer diagnosis); and
- Q-Sera (Blood collection);
- PERKii (Probiotic drink);
- Occurx (Eye damage from diabetes);
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For more information, visit the Stoic Venture Capital website at https://www.stoicvc.com.au/
