Heading for Change announces investment in Unconventional Ventures Fund I
Heading for Change (HfC), the donor-advised fund focused on accelerating proven climate solutions with women as agents of change, has announced its sixth investment into a diversity and climate-focused fund in the Nordics.
Unconventional Ventures Fund I (UV I) is a pre-seed and seed stage venture fund investing in diverse founders identifying as women, people of colour, immigrants and/or LGBTQ+ providing purpose driven solutions to tackle critical problems in climate, health and education. UV was founded to bridge the persistent funding and power gap between early stage investors and diverse founders, with only 1% of VC capital in the Nordics going to all female teams and 4.4% to gender balanced teams. The fund - which is women-founded and led - has a robust, SDG-aligned impact framework, an embedded Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion lens and is 2X aligned. The fund has made ten investments to date, ranging from a zero-emissions water desalination system powered by wave technology, a transport management system to decarbonize the trucking industry to a producer of renewable bio-based sustainable dyes. HfC’s investment has been co-diligenced alongside Stardust Equity, a US-based family office investing to advance gender equity and an HFC donor-partner. Two other HfC donor-partners are also investors in UV I.
Natalie Shriber, Head of Investments at Heading for Change, said “By backing one of the first - and only - all-female teams focusing explicitly on diverse climate founders in Europe, we aim to address systemic barriers including access to money and decision-making power. These will help us to demonstrate that diversity drives better and more resilient environmental, social and financial outcomes. HfC’s investment in Unconventional Ventures I is catalytic as it goes to a first-time fund manager with a differentiated and highly impactful strategy at the nexus of climate, gender and diversity. “
"At Unconventional Ventures, we're honored to welcome Heading for Change aboard as we continue our mission of investing in diverse founders and amplifying representation in climate-focused companies’, said Co-Founders Thea Messel and Nora Bavey. “Suzanne Biegel's pivotal contribution has set the stage for our ongoing efforts to bridge funding disparities and drive positive change. Together, we're not only investing capital but also catalyzing a transformation in climate and gender finance. Through our partnership, we're actively reshaping the landscape, addressing systemic inequities, and amplifying the impact of purpose-driven investments. This collaboration underscores our dedication to action, as we strive towards a future where diversity propels us towards better environmental, social, and financial outcomes."
Heading for Change launched in 2022 with a $1MM endowment from Suzanne Biegel and Daniel Maskit, which has since grown to almost $3.5MM. This investment is part of the fund’s strategy to build a demonstration portfolio and community of donor-partners active at the nexus of climate and gender finance, and ultimately influence other institutional and individual capital to follow suit. The fund plans to commit all of its capital by March 2025 and is targeting a total of 20 investments.