Tech for Good is a monthly newsletter about the purpose-driven economy in Europe. I share noteworthy investments, market observations and personal experiences. If you enjoy this issue, please like it above and subscribe.
Hi everyone, Jen here from Tech for Good!
When I launched my newsletter a month ago, I honestly did not expect that much traction and positive reactions. People from all kinds of different countries and backgrounds have signed up (VCs, Angel Investors, Founders, Operators, Corporate Managers, Consultants, Students, Friends), showing that there is a real interest for “Tech for Good” - no matter in which area you work. I am thrilled to be invited into your inbox once a month — nowadays attention is scarce and content is plentiful, so I feel very thankful that you choose to read my newsletter.
With this in mind, it would be great if you can share what sparked your interest and what you’re hoping to learn so that I can deliver the best content to you!
Now, it’s quick poll time - click on what interests you the most.
Useful links & reads 📚
Investments 💵
Diversity 👩🏻💼
Spotting new startups 🚀
Conscious consumer 🌱
The mix is good! 🙌🏻
With Black Friday taking place last week and Christmas being just around the corner, these weeks are usually being dominated by hyper-consumption. Especially this year after a rough period, retailers are hoping to get rid of the mountains of unsold stock until the end of the year.
While some brands were boycotting Black Friday to highlight sustainability initiatives, 2020 has brought also a resurgence of values and an increased consumer consciousness to buy and shop more local. However, an experiment by sustainable fashion brand Armedangels for this year’s Black Friday highlights though the continuous challenge in society: when given the choice, consumers still choose to be greedy then to be good.
With this in mind, I put together some ideas for you to give your loved ones more conscious gifts for this Holiday season. Wishing you a wonderful “advent” season!
☁️ US VC Bessemer Venture Partners released their insights on “The Rise of Cloud in Europe” and sustainable innovation going mainstream is one of their main predictions
📈 Why deploying climate tech at scale is so hard
🤖 The carbon footprint of artificial intelligence
🌳 How the world’s largest green search engine is fighting climate change
🇬🇧 The 'father of British venture capital' shares his insights into tech as an impact leader to change people's lives and fix the planet
🇬🇧 UK has vowed to cut emissions by 68% by 2030 based on 1990 levels
🛣 European Investment’s Bank Roadmap 2021-2025 for their climate strategy
🇪🇺 Europe needs a new social contract
🥩 Cultivated meat landscape
🌍 Climate Tech Software landscape
🖨 5 promising European startups 3D printing your food
🎓 The new age of “embedded education”
✊🏾 Germany’s immigrants rise to fore of start-up scene
👩🏽 26% of startups in Germany are founded by immigrants
👩🏼 Insights from 3 female CTOs from Berlin on societal challenges they are tackling in their work, how they are diversifying their talent pipeline, and how to improve inclusivity in the tech space overall
🤝 Venture Capital firm Speedinvest and Female Founders, a European accelerator for female entrepreneurship, are cooperating for more diversity in tech
🌱 Infarm’s Co-Founder Osnat Michaeli is giving advice to young entrepreneurs looking to kick off their own Agtech company
🇬🇧 UK
🌱 Emitwise, a carbon accounting software, raises $3.4 million from former Uber CEO Ryan Graves, Social Impact Capital and True Ventures
🎓 Tutor marketplace GoStudent grabs €13.3 million by DN Capital and Left Lane Capital
🏫 Online university for passion economy Dorm raises 1million by Playfair Capital, Plug&Play Ventures and RCL Ventures
🇩🇪 Germany
☀️ Princeville Climate Technology (that has Leonardo di Caprio among its LPs) invests in solar panel startup Enpal (German only)
🇫🇷 France
🛒 Food retailer Carrefour acquired the Bio c’ Bon, one of the largest organic supermarkets in Paris for €60m
🇳🇱 Netherlands
🧘♂️ Koa Health, a mental health startup, raises €14.1 million in its Series A round of funding by Ancora Finance Group and Wellington Partners
🇸🇪 Sweden
🥩 Trellis Road invests in HERO Protein, a Shanghai-based early-stage startup creating plant-based meat alternatives for the Chinese market
🇮🇱 Israel
🥩 Cultured meat company Meat Tech 3D raises €5.9 million from Psagot Provident
Here are selected early-stage startups spotted last month.
🇩🇪 Carbon Instead. Reduces the CO2 footprint of buildings and materials.
🇩🇪 SPRK. Makes the global food supply chain food waste-free by turning millions of tons of food oversupply into a sustainable impact venture.
🇩🇪 Farminsect. Automated solution for regional insect breeding for the farmer as animal feed for chickens, pigs and fish.
🇸🇪 Check out this Swedish startup climate action map by Sting.
Last month I was…
🎧 Listening to the new Cooler Future Podcast Episode #1 and joined the waiting list
From 🇫🇮
Podcast host Miia Laine and Matti Rönkkö (Founder & CEO of Cooler Future) talk about the basics of impact investing and its role in tackling climate change
My main takeaway: Money has a big footprint: Changing your investments to be carbon-neutral has more positive impact than changing your consumption behaviour
“The scary thing is that we think that the 5 Euro purchase of a sustainably sourced coffee is going to save the world, but we don’t think about the thousands of Euros that might be lying in our bank account.” - Matti Rönkkö
💳 Creating a bank account at Tomorrow Bank, a sustainable banking solution that helps users manage their finances while reducing their carbon footprint
From 🇩🇪
Launched in 2017
Raised €3m in equity crowdfunding
➕ Account opening process is on par with other challenger banks (e.g. Revolut, N26) and better than traditional banks; Essential features are there (Spaces, Real-time notifications,Google/Apple Pay etc.)
➕ USP: For every Euro you spend the equivalent in m2 is invested in protecting rainforest projects; customer deposits are invested in sustainable projects; users have transparency over what the bank is investing in
➖ Free tier version has only three cash withdrawals / month
💦 Drinking tap water filtered with activated charcoal bamboo from Nopla
From 🇬🇧
Launched in November 2019
➕ Better alternative than the plastic water filter from BRITA we’ve been using in the past: 100% recyclable packaging, 100% carbonized bamboo water filter, biodegradable, no change in taste
➖ Needs to be put in water for 2-3 hours
And since Christmas is around the corner, here are some brands and startups that can help you to gift responsibly this Holiday:
💎 Kimai - Jewellery crafted from 18k recycled gold and lab-grown diamonds
🥗 Click and Grow - Fully automated indoor gardens that grow herbs, fruits, vegetables and flowers
👟 Sustainable sneaker brands reviewed by Thingtesting
🍶 Nopla - Biodegradable, reusable, vegan home-sets
🧴 Bower Collective - Natural household products in reusable packaging
🧴 Ambo Skincare - Sustainable clean skincare
🧴 Upcircle’s plastic-free accessories bundle
📝 Therapy Notebooks - Journal to help with mental health, designed by therapists and using Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
👩🏻💼 Female Founders Gift Guide featuring gifts from female-led companies
📦 Love Language - Gift boxes filled with products, service and experiences from black-owned businesses
Thank you for reading! Do you have comments, questions, tips?
very interesting summary of all the things happening in the name of saving the planet. my take away is that it feels a bit like "headless chicken" running after the next "feeling" based hype raising lots of money in the hope to become a unicorn but little efforts going into macro analytics. birth control in africa, india and south america would probably do more for saving the planet than all the stuff going on.