impact investing

In brief: UK impact VC raises £68m

New VC manager Eka Ventures has raised £68m for its debut fund for UK start-ups in sustainability, healthcare and the inclusive economy. Eka’s founders say this is the ‘largest impact-driven early stage venture capital fund focused on the UK’.

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Eka Ventures has reached a final close at £68 million ($95 million; €79 million) for its first fund. Eka will invest in UK-based early-stage consumer technology companies in sustainable consumption, consumer healthcare and the inclusive economy sectors, the firm said in a statement, as reported by affiliate title Venture Capital Journal. It will seek deals valued between £500,000 and £3 million.

London-headquartered Eka was founded in 2018 by Jon Coker, Camilla Dolan and Andrew Richardson. The vehicle is “the largest impact-driven, early-stage venture capital fund focused on the UK”, the firm said in the statement.

Eka measures impact using the Impact Management Project framework, Coker told TechCrunch, which first reported the story.

Co-founder Camilla Dolan said in a statement: “When it comes to working with companies, we are clear in our desire for scale. We are looking for entrepreneurs who set the bar for impact driven innovation high and who are focused on fundamentally changing or creating a category, in the same way Tesla has single-handedly propelled the electric vehicle industry forward.”