World Fund raises another 50 million euros

Climate tech venture capitalist World Fund raises over €50 million, with new partners including KfW Capital and Ignitis Group. Positive signs for the European climate tech market despite declining investment.

Berlin - Berlin-based climate tech venture capitalist World Fund has raised over €50 million in new capital from new limited partners in recent months. These new limited partners are KfW Capital, a subsidiary of KfW, Lithuanian utility Ignitis Group and a German reinsurance company.

Investment in climate tech in Europe has recently been on the decline, according to market researchers. In the first quarter of 2023, $4.4 billion flowed into European climate tech companies, down 57.6 percent year-over-year. World Fund stands out positively in this regard, and investors appreciate the company's portfolio and performance.

"We see this as a strong signal for climate technology in Europe, especially in the context of the general decline in venture capital. One of the main aspects that attracted investors is our portfolio and especially its performance in these times.

Daria Saharova, Partner at World Fund

Daria Saharova, partner at World Fund, stresses the importance of diversifying limited partners, which include institutional investors, family offices and entrepreneurial capital. This, she says, has attracted the interest of investors.

Ignitis Group aims to create a 100 percent green and secure energy ecosystem in Lithuania and the Baltic States. It has decided to invest in Climate Tech to support its zero emissions goal. However, financial support for the Climate Tech sector still falls far short of the amounts needed. According to a World Fund white paper, funding needs to increase by at least 590 percent to $4.35 trillion annually for Europe to meet its climate goals.

We believe this asset class is critical for the energy sector to meet the EU's climate goals and our own strategic objectives, as well as to maintain competitive advantages.

Darius Maikštėnas, CEO Ignitis Group

The World Fund invests from seed to Series B in startups whose technologies have high decarbonization potential. The Fund is a founding partner of the venture capital-climate alliance VCA.

Previous Limited Partners of the World Fund include the European Investment Fund (EIF), the UK Environment Agency Pension Fund (EAPF), PwC Germany, the German green search engine company Ecosia, and entrepreneurs such as the entrepreneurial couple Pausder, Trivago founder Rolf Schrömgens, and soccer player Mario Götze. The World Fund and its partners are committed to promoting technologies that contribute to decarbonization and enable a more sustainable world.