Staying true to its name, the Citi Impact Fund is seeking out ventures that are taking on some of society’s greatest challenges.
Established just last fall, the $200 million fund focuses on startups and early-stage ventures that they view as having the potential to achieve great change. The Fund recently announced the seven latest companies to join its portfolio, making note of the diversity of their founding teams that include women, African-Americans, and armed forces veteran entrepreneurs who need greater access to capital.
“In just its first year, the Citi Impact Fund has invested in 11 companies, the majority of which are founded by women, minorities – and in some cases both – that have the potential to make our cities and communities more equitable and sustainable,” said the Head of Global Public Affairs at Citi, Ed Skyler.
Two of the recently funded ventures are MedHaul, a ride-booking platform for non-emergency medical rides, and Perch, a service enabling uses to build their credit by paying for Netflix, Spotify and other service providers on credit. The other five are Vyv, KETOS, and Clerkie, Superpedestrian and Shift.
“The Citi Impact Fund is broadening access to capital for founders like me,” said Erica Plybeah, Founder and CEO of MedHaul, the first company receiving earlier-stage seed investment from the fund. “We’re extremely excited to partner with Citi as we scale our company to support more people in need of quality, dependable medical transportation.”
By seeking out under-represented entrepreneurs who are starting businesses based on personal experience or need, the Fund is tapping into new areas of innovation. For example, Michael Broughton founded Perch based on his own experience of having been denied credit due to a combination of factors that includes lack of a credit score and no proof of credit history.
The Citi Impact Fund puts it attention to those ventures that demonstrate proof of concept, have an existing customer base and display the potential to scale in multiple markets. Earlier-stage ventures led or owned by women and minorities are specifically targeted for funding from a portion of the fund that has been set aside for them.
Aspiring veteran entrepreneurs are also a priority for the Fund—something that veterans very much appreciate, says Shift CEO Mike Slagh, “This Citi Impact Fund investment will help further our mission in helping veterans successfully transition out of the military and thrive in successful civilian careers.” Shift assists current and past members of the military in making career changes and helping them to acquire new skills that will gain them access to new job experiences at top companies.
The Fund overall focuses on five core current societal challenges: sustainability, financial capability, workforce development, physical and social infrastructure, and equal access to capital and economic opportunity for minorities and women.
Read: Underrepresented Entrepreneurs Gain Access to Capital via Amazon’s new $150M Fund
