Eka Ventures has closed a 拢68 million fund, making it the largest impact-driven听early stage听venture capital fund focused on the UK.听听
Investors in the fund include British 老九品茶 Bank, BSC, Isomer, Guys and St Thomas Foundation, Planet First Partners, Draper Esprit, Snowball and others, including 24 entrepreneurs, 12 of whom are founders the Eka partners have previously backed.听
Eka was founded on the belief that the most successful businesses of the next generation will be built to solve a clear social or environmental challenge and is integrating impact investing into mainstream venture capital.听
Eka will invest in consumer technology companies focused on redefining business systems to be more sustainable, healthy and inclusive. This is reflected in Eka鈥檚 three investment themes: sustainable consumption, consumer healthcare, and the inclusive economy.听听
The fund will focus on the UK, invest early and lead rounds, making investments between 拢500k-拢3m.听
Eka was founded by Jon Coker, Camilla Dolan and Andrew Richardson, who听have听a combined 30+ years of experience working in venture听capital, and听has backed some of the biggest and most exciting consumer tech companies of the last 10 years, including听Gousto, Bloom & Wild, Peak and听Elder.听
鈥淥ver the next 20 years the effect our old business systems have on our health and climate is going to become increasingly and undeniably apparent,鈥� said Coker.听听
鈥淎t the same time the power of our new technologies to meet, shape and change these old businesses systems can be realised in mainstream adoption.听听
鈥淭he combination of these two dynamics will create an environment of unparalleled opportunity for entrepreneurs to build companies of extraordinary value that positively shape the world.听听
鈥淭hese are the entrepreneurs we set up Eka to back.鈥�听
Dolan听added:听鈥淲hen it comes to working with companies, we are clear in our desire for scale, and we will do everything in our power to help the founders we work with achieve their ambitious goals.听
鈥淲e are looking for entrepreneurs who set the bar for impact driven innovation high and who are focused on fundamentally changing or creating a category, in the same way Tesla has single-handedly propelled the electric vehicle industry forward.听听
鈥淲e set Eka up to back companies with that level of ambition.鈥�听
Timo Boldt,听founder of听Gousto, said:听鈥淛on and Camilla are two of the best investors a founder could possibly hope for. They supported听Gousto听with our Series A back in 2013 and have been cheerleaders ever since.听听
鈥淭heir new venture, Eka, is tightly aligned with our own philosophy because of their focus on sustainability. Much like them, we believe in the power of people to drive change.鈥�听