Posted In:

Climate, ESG, Capital Markets


#447
It's Getting Hot In Herre

Published:

Jul 23, 2022


Author:

Cindy Grazer

Posted In:

Climate, ESG, Capital Markets

Published:

Jul 23, 2022


Author:

Cindy Grazer


Share:

What a record-setting week (temperature-wise). This weekend, more than 85% of Americans are expecting above 90 degrees Fahrenheit weather, with the south-central US expecting triple digits. Heat waves are being declared across the country, with the government urging people to stay indoors, check on neighbors and pets and stay hydrated. Business operations for many industries are also being affected or altogether stalled as droughts extend and power outages climb higher.

These physical conditions have prompted many to think about climate change and awareness, including President Biden, who announced executive actions on Wednesday to address extreme heat and boost offshore wind. These actions include $2.3b of funding to build resilient infrastructure for Fiscal Year 2022, $385m to help families with their household energy costs including summer cooling, and efforts to expand offshore wind energy opportunities.

Various financial institutions have also increased their focus on climate awareness. UBS launched a US-focused Climate Aware Equity Index that provides investment exposure to low carbon and climate friendly companies, while NatWest published a carbon planner to help companies work out their estimated carbon footprint. For years now, ESG related initiatives and environmental KPIs have become an increasingly important criteria for companies and investors alike. Public company management teams are paying more attention to tracking and reporting on their climate related goals, while new startups are incorporating such criteria into their early stage thinking around building a sustainable business model.

There is also a growing industry surrounding combating climate change - for example, carbon credits has been proposed as a means of fighting unaccounted carbon emissions as a trackable KPI, and we think there will be many new and innovative ways in coming years in this field. Walking the streets of New York City, it seems like its ever-resourceful citizens have found even more creative ways of staying cool. May this avalanche of heat be over soon… and if not, let’s hope everyone forgets what Nelly said 20 years ago and keep their clothes on!

It's Getting Hot In Herre

Portfolio News


Cryptocurrency tax software provider, CoinLedger, announces integration with Polygon blockchain - Users who interact with Polygon via decentralized applications and wallets can now import their transaction history directly to CoinLedger to automate all of their capital gains, losses, and income tax reporting. Read more

Brooks Gibbins featured at FINNOSUMMIT - After two consecutive years of having only virtual events, the 6th edition of FINNOSUMMIT, the most collaborative Fintech meeting in Latin America, was held on June 1 and 2; in a completely face-to-face format. "A new Fintech era" was the title of the session that opened the conference, moderated by Álvaro Rodríguez, Co-Founder & Managing Partner of IGNIA, and Brooks Gibbins, Co-Founder & Managing Partner of FinTech Collective. From beginning to end, the audience showed great interest in the content of this first presentation. Read more

It's Getting In Herre


Carbon credits should be one of our best tools to fight climate change—if we use them right - The market for carbon offsets is booming, and a series of efforts have sprung up to define rules and standards that will tackle their often dodgy reputation. Global agreement on those rules is crucial to achieving a net-zero future and essential to helping avert the looming climate catastrophe. Read more

Netherlands ruling links climate change, human rights — and corporations - A judge in The Netherlands ruled that Royal Dutch Shell owed Dutch residents a duty of care to reduce its carbon emissions. While the ruling is being appealed against, it poses the question of whether there is a new trend that links climate change to human rights. Read more

UBS launches US equity-focused Climate Aware Equity Index to help investors meet environmental and financial goals - The index is a rules based strategy that aims to provide investment exposure to the long-term theme of transitioning to a low carbon and climate resilient economy. It also aims to serve the increasing demand for investment and retirement products that not only help investors achieve their investment goals but also help mitigate climate-related risks in their portfolios and capture environmental objectives within the investment philosophy. Read more

How is NatWest’s Carbon Planner tackling climate change? - In June 2022, banking giant NatWest launched Carbon Planner, a service designed to help businesses in reducing their carbon footprint. The purpose of the Carbon Planner is to facilitate the green transition of businesses in line with the bank’s carbon emissions and climate impact. Operating as a guide for businesses that can input their gas and electricity usage to see their carbon footprint, the program signposts steps that can be taken to become more sustainable. Read more

Industry News


Bankman-Fried's crypto exchange FTX is in talks to raise funds after buying spree - FTX and its American entity FTX US are both fundraising, according to people familiar with the matter. FTX is targeting a round at essentially the same valuation as its January fundraising - where the company raised $400m at a $32b valuation, while FTX US raised a separate $400m at an $8b valuation. Read more

YouTube rolls out new shopping features, announces partnership with Shopify - With this partnership, creators who link their stores can display their products across their channel and leverage Shopify’s real-time inventory syncing. Creators in the United States can now enable onsite checkout to allow viewers to complete their purchases without leaving YouTube. Read more

Digital asset groups rush to scoop up crypto registrations in Europe - Cryptocurrency exchanges are racing to plant their flags across Europe in anticipation of MiCA (Markets in Crypto-assets), an EU-wide regulation that will co-ordinate the bloc’s approach to the digital finance industry. Read more

Flywire acquires Aussie education paytech Cohort Go - The move follows Flywire’s acquisition of UK education paytech WPM for an undisclosed sum in December last year. The acquisition will help build out Flywire’s existing education business and accelerate the growth of its team as it looks to further invest in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, which the firm says is a “key geographic focus”. Read more

Goldman-backed fintech Starling withdraws European bank license application - Starling will instead focus on selling its software-as-a-service product, aimed at helping banks with their digital transformation strategies, and expanding into new areas of lending, CEO Anne Boden told staff in a memo this week. Read more

Last continent standing: with +125% YoY quarterly growth, Africa is the only continent not to record a significant YoY contraction this quarter - In Q2 ‘22, startups in Africa have raised 2.25x times the amount that they had raised a year before ($1.3bn+ vs. <$600m). Read more

Instagram’s new payments feature lets users buy products via DMs - Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced this week that the company is launching a new “payments in chat” feature on Instagram. With this new feature, users can purchase products from small businesses and track orders via direct messages on Instagram in the United States. Read more

EU lawmaker calls for ban on ‘payment for order flow’ - A key EU lawmaker is set to back calls for a formal ban on brokers selling customers’ share trades to market intermediaries, adding to momentum in favor of clamping down on the practice. Read more

‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ looks to healthcare for shot in the arm - BNPL companies battling a slowing economy and strained household budgets are increasingly turning to niche sectors to secure their futures. For Brian Shniderman, chief strategy officer for Australia’s Openpay Group, a pivot toward healthcare led to a debate over the Brazilian butt lift! Read more

SME banking platform Qonto to acquire Germany's Penta - The acquisition comes as Qonto pursues its ambition of onboarding 1m European SMEs and freelancers by 2025. Founded in 2017, Berlin-based Penta offers a suite of banking, budgeting and bookkeeping tools for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within Germany. The acquisition will bring 50,000 customers across from Penta, added to the 250,000 clients that Qonto currently has across France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Read more

Select Financings


Atlantic Money - London based money transfer company raised £2.5m in seed funding led by Amplo. Read more

Arrenda - Mexico City based real estate financing startup raised $1.5m in pre-Seed funding led by Fasanara Capital. Read more

Bloom - Sudan based high-yield savings account fintech raised $6.5m in seed funding led by Visa. Read more

Casavo - Italian home-buying platform raised €100m in Series D funding led by Exor. Read more

Fairbanc - Indonesia based BNPL company raised $4.8m in pre-Series A funding led by Vertex Ventures. Read more

FairPlay - Los Angeles based algorithmic underwriting startup focused on bias raised $10m in Series A funding led by Nyca Partners. Read more

Fonoa - Dublin based tax automation platform raised $60m in Series B funding led by Coatue. Read more

Futurerent - Australia based platform for lending to landlords raised A$9m in Series A funding led by OIF Ventures. Read more

Gordian Software - Seattle based API-driven travel booking software provider raised $25m in Series A funding led by Accomplice and Vinyl. Read more

Halborn - Miami based blockchain security startup raised $90m in Series A funding led by Summit Partners. Read more

Hashflow - San Francisco based DeFi trading platform raised $25m in Series A funding led by Electric Capital. Read more

Jupiter Exchange - New York based fractional NFT exchange startup raised $5m in Seed funding led by White Hilt Capital. Read more

Koffie Insurance - Brooklyn based insurtech focused on the trucking sector raised $11m in Series A funding led by Anthemis Group. Read more

Mahalo Banking - Michigan based online and mobile banking solution provider for credit unions raised $20m in new funding led by Superior Credit Union. Read more

Meow - New York City based crypto yield offering for corporate treasuries raised $22m in Series A funding led by Tiger Global. Read more

Mx51 - Australia based payments tech company raised $32.5m in Series B funding led by an undisclosed global fintech investor. Read more

Nickel - New York based billing and payments startup targeting building material suppliers raised $1.7m in pre-Seed funding led by Conversion Capital. Read more

Optic - San Francisco based NFT authentication company raised $11m in Seed funding led by Kleiner Perkins and Pantera Capital. Read more

Roomless - Italy based rental platform raised €1.5m in Seed funding led by Sensible Capital. Read more

TomoCredit - San Francisco based alternative credit card provider raised $22m in Series B funding led by Morgan Stanley’s Next Level Fund. Read more

TurnKey Lender - Singapore based lending automation platform raised $10m in new funding led by OTB Ventures. Read more

X1 Card - San Francisco based new consumer credit card startup raised $25m in Series B funding led by FPV Ventures. Read more

XLD Finance - Philippines based DeFi services firm raised $13m in pre-Series A funding led by Dragonfly Capital and Infinity Ventures Crypto. Read more

Zebedee - New Jersey based payment processor for the gaming industry raised $35m in Series B funding led by Kingsway Capital. Read more

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