Voices from the Field: Noramay Cadena and Shayna Harris, Supply Change Capital
For our ‘Voices from the Field’ series, we speak to Noramay Cadena & Shayna Harris, Managing Partners at Supply Change Capital, about how their careers at the intersection of innovation, equity, and sustainability led them to uncover opportunities to invest in technology to transform the food system in response to climate and culture as driving forces.
How has applying an integrated climate and gender lens helped you to achieve a greater impact on climate?
The venture capital landscape remains deeply inequitable. Women entrepreneurs collectively receive only 1.9% of VC funding, while Black and Latina women founders receive an astonishingly low 0.1% (McKinsey, 2022). These disparities represent a vast, untapped opportunity for early-stage funding and the loss of vital innovation.
At Supply Change Capital, 66% of our portfolio companies that focus on environmental solutions are led by women CEOs. Their innovations reduce the impact of the food system on our climate. These leaders are pioneering cutting-edge innovations, from alternative seafood to zero-waste beverage vending stations. By integrating climate and gender considerations into our strategy, we unlock a broader spectrum of ideas and approaches, driving both impact and value creation.
How is climate and gender integration showing up in your fund?
Supply Change Capital is purposefully designed for impact. As a 100% woman-led firm with 50% Latina ownership, we are proud to stand among the less than 20% of investment partners who are women and 5% of investment partners of Hispanic/Latino heritage (Deloitte VC Survey).
We are committed to fostering equitable access to venture capital, an area where opportunity often falls short. To minimize bias, we’ve implemented accessible and inclusive processes, such as requiring all companies—whether referred through cold or warm introductions—to submit a standardized intake form on our website. This ensures we evaluate every company on equal footing, starting with consistent, comparable information before conducting deeper reviews.
Our efforts to prioritize diversity are reflected in our portfolio: as of December 2024, 54% of the companies we back are led by women CEOs. This diversity strengthens our investments and enhances our ability to address climate challenges.
Notable women-led companies in our portfolio are driving innovation to reduce the food system's environmental footprint, including:
Aqua Cultured Foods: Developing fish-free seafood alternatives.
Compound: Producing beanless coffee to mitigate climate impacts in traditional coffee farming.
Hyfé: Creating upcycled feedstocks for the bioeconomy.
Kadeya: Innovating closed-loop beverage systems in industrial workplaces.
Lasso: Providing emission reduction software.
Robigo: Advancing biological pesticide solutions.
Through these transformative ventures, we are redefining what it means to invest at the intersection of equity, sustainability, and climate action.
In your own words, what opportunities does investing at the climate-gender nexus provide to investors?
Several institutions working towards solutions for climate change recognize and seek to amplify the role women play in climate action. For example, The Nature Conservancy, a global environmental non-profit states as part of their Women in Climate initiative:
“Women challenge existing power structures and traditional notions of what climate action entails. Crucially, women take an intersectional approach, building inclusive, trust-based, and resilient networks that center the knowledge and perspectives of diverse community-led and structurally excluded groups.”
We agree - and breakthrough climate innovation must include women at the forefront. This is exemplified by how we support our portfolio companies. Compound, founded by Maricel Saenz, developed Minus, a beanless coffee alternative addressing climate change impacts in the coffee industry. Rather than disrupting traditional farmers' livelihoods, Supply Change Capital helped Maricel establish a partnership with a Nicaraguan social enterprise. This enables women smallholder farmers to transition to sustainable, high-value crops like spices in agroforestry systems, securing both their financial future and environmental resilience.
How did you get to where you are — what inspired the interest/ commitment to climate and gender strategies?
As mothers with immigrant families who bootstrapped their way in America (parents and grandparents), we carry lived histories that deeply connect us to the issues we address. Today, we invest in technology to transform the food system. We are committed to investing with a diversity lens—seeking financial returns while simultaneously improving economic opportunities and environmental and social well-being. We bring these diverse experiences and perspectives to Supply Change Capital, creating a platform that empowers change-makers and catalyzes innovation for a more equitable and sustainable future.
In the community, Noramay has championed the diversification of funders and founders in the venture capital and tech ecosystems. She serves as a Venture Partner with Portfolia's Rising America funds, investing in Latinx, Black, and LGBTQ founders; sits on the investment committee of the Acumen America Fund; and is a founding board member of SomosVC, an organization dedicated to expanding the Latino ecosystem of funders and founders. Her approach seeks alpha in overlooked places, proving that financial returns and social impact can—and should—work hand in hand.
In the food industry, Shayna has built bridges between unlikely collaborators to drive resilience and innovation. During the rise of the specialty coffee movement in the 2000s, she worked with companies like Starbucks and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters to align their business strategies with the livelihoods of farming families. In 2008, she was awarded a Fulbright scholarship, allowing her to immerse herself in small farming communities in northeastern Brazil. There, she gained hands-on experience in agroecology and the food supply chain—insights that now shape her community-centric approach to evaluating technologies and investment opportunities.
Together, we leverage our distinct experiences to redefine how venture capital can drive meaningful change at the intersection of equity, sustainability, and innovation.
Find out more about Heading for Change’s investment thesis and portfolio companies