Vancouver, BC – Renewal Funds is pleased to announce that its latest fund, Renewal4, has closed at C$145 million making it one of the largest early stage impact funds in North America and bringing the firm’s total assets under management to approximately C$240 million.

Renewal Funds is a sustainability focused firm that invests across North America in environmental technology and sustainable consumer products. Renewal4 will continue the firm’s focus on early-growth stage investments in its core sectors, including three investments made to date in Opus One Solutions, Prana and Swiftly.  The firm’s Consumer Products team, led by Kate Storey and Genevieve Pinto, focuses on partnering with innovative companies that are leading the way to a more sustainable food system, cleaner oceans and lowering the carbon footprint and waste generation of the consumer products industry.  The Environmental Innovation team, led by Geordan Hankinson, invests across four broad themes; energy, water, smart cities and food/ag tech, focusing on differentiated software and data companies that can scale up quickly with relatively low capital requirements. 

Renewal4 comprises over 140 investors including many repeat investors from its earlier funds and a number of institutional investors including BDC Capital and The Co-operators. The Fund received over $40 million in commitments from investors based in the U.S. and Europe and a $20 million allocation from the Canadian Federal Government’s Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative’s Clean Technology stream.

Paul Richardson, Managing Partner of Renewal Funds shared, “we are grateful for the ongoing support of our long-time investors as well as the support of our new individual and institutional partners. We are also proud to have received the innovative VCCI clean tech funding from the Federal Government as it reflects not only our track record and commitment to clean tech in Canada, but also the diversity of our team.  We launched our first fund in 2008 at a time when few people were focused on the opportunity to both make a significant positive impact for the planet and deliver above market returns. In the intervening decade impact investing has become an asset class and many investors are aligning their investments with their values. The current fund is over four times the size of that first fund – a testament to the strength of both our team and the portfolios we have built here at Renewal.”

“We are pleased to partner with Renewal Funds as we believe innovation in the environmental and sustainable food/consumer sectors are promising areas of growth globally. The fund’s social impact orientation including a strong focus on supporting diverse management teams also aligns well with BDC Capital’s role as a key supporter of diversity and inclusion initiatives in the Canadian VC ecosystem, ” noted Alison Nankivell, Vice President, Fund Investments at BDC Capital.

For more information on Renewal Funds, visit www.renewalfunds.com.

Media contact:
Emily Danaher, Renewal Funds
P: 604-424-9333
E: emily@renewalfunds.com