Hong Kong VC Brinc Commits To Invest In 1,000 ‘Climate-Conscious Startups’ Within 5 Years

Hong Kong-headquartered venture capital and accelerator Brinc has announced that it plans to invest in more than 1,000 sustainable startups who are working on climate solutions within the next five years. Brinc says that its new global investment goal will be driven primarily through the scaling-up of its accelerator programs to support more startups, from food tech companies to renewable energy entrepreneurs. 

Unveiling their new investment plan on Tuesday (December 1), coinciding with the firm’s sixth birthday, Brinc says it will aim to back over 1,000 “climate-conscious startups” over the next five years. These startups must meet a set of new criteria, including putting planet-friendly practices at the centre of their operations, from plant-based food solutions to energy-efficient manufacturing and sustainable sourcing and packaging. Once an investment is made, Brinc says they will continue to monitor startup performance and commitment to the outlined criteria. 

“The new commitment comes in recognition that Brinc and its global business partners need to do their part to slow down the effects of climate change,” said Brinc. “With over 120 global mentors already signed up to their new programs criteria — ranging from large corporates to institutional investors and governments — 2021 is shaping up to be a significant year of impactful growth.” 

The new commitment comes in recognition that Brinc and its global business partners need to do their part to slow down the effects of climate change.

Brinc

The Hong Kong-based firm, who counts cell-based seafood maker Avant Meats, India’s microalgae venture Seagrass Tech and GI-lowering foods startup Aurora Food among its global portfolio, says that its new investment ambitions will be mainly achieved by scaling-up Brinc accelerator programs from the current 11 global programs that invest in over 100 companies a year to 20-plus structures with similar funding volumes. 

“Our goal is to sign up all our global accelerators under the sustainability umbrella as we continue to invest in game changing founders that are building businesses that mitigate climate change by developing more sustainable agriculture, manufacturing, supply chains,” explained Brinc CEO Manav Gupta. 

“As strong believers that change can be driven through business, Brinc has been an active investor in climate mitigation technologies over the years and we’re committing to go even further in the years to come.”

As part of its pledge and in line with the global sustainable investing trend in light of the pandemic, Brinc says that they have also committed to abide by the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and adopt an ESG-focused framework, which has shown the superior risk-adjusted returns of such investments. 

Our goal is to sign up all our global accelerators under the sustainability umbrella as we continue to invest in game changing founders that are building businesses that mitigate climate change by developing more sustainable agriculture, manufacturing, supply chains.

Manav Gupta, CEO of Brinc

“Brinc believes that integrating ESG factors into our investment process will lead to better long-term performance and create value for all of our stakeholders,” wrote Brinc in a post. 

Other impact VCs have taken on a similar approach in recent months, such as AgFunder, who are focused on agri-food tech startups based in Silicon Valley and Singapore. In August, the firm launched a new fund entirely dedicated to technologies that will perform on ESG metrics across the food system.

Gupta added that Brinc’s renewed commitment to support climate impact startups comes amidst a crucial time for our planet, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to highlight the link between humanity’s destruction of the natural world and the economic, human and social cost that is only set to rise if climate change is left untackled. 

“Covid has highlighted the fragility and interconnectedness of our global ecosystems, illustrating how actions in one place can have ripple effects all around the world. In the same light, it has also shown how if we work together we can rapidly develop groundbreaking solutions,” Gupta said. 

“This is a very unique opportunity to highlight the importance of keeping this global spirit and developing the tools, technologies and processes to drive true change for the long term — this is a commitment that will take us at least 10–20 years, and we need to set regular 2 to 3 year milestones to ensure we stay on track.”

Lead image courtesy of Unsplash.