More Than Half Of the Start-Ups Citi’s Impact Fund Has Invested In Are Owned By Minorities
Citi has announced its next round of investments through the Citi Impact Fund, a $200 million fund launched last year to invest in companies that are addressing some of the biggest societal challenges.
Daylight, Flume, and Stackshare are among the list of companies included in the round. This brings the Impact Fund’s total number of investments to 23 companies – more than half of which are founded by women and/or minorities.
Ed Skyler, Head of Global Public Affairs at Citi, said: “The portfolio of the Citi Impact Fund keeps growing as we continue to find inspiring companies that are taking on solutions for the physical, financial and social infrastructure challenges that our communities are facing.
“From addressing lack of internet access to reducing the burden of medical care, these companies are rethinking what’s possible, and we are proud to deploy our balance sheet in support of true ‘double bottom-line’ companies.”
The Citi Impact Fund’s Black Entrepreneurs Investment Initiative – a $50 million capital commitment from Citi to reduce the wealth gap by creating equitable access to venture capital funding for Black founders – has made nine early-stage equity investments in tech-enabled ventures led by Black founders.
Here are some of the companies that received funding for this new round.
StackShare – A San Francisco, CA-based enterprise software-as-a-service company. StackShare is a community-driven SaaS platform that lets you see all the best software tools and who’s using them both inside and outside your company.
It was founded by Yonas Beshawred. From a side project on a WordPress blog, StackShare has managed to raise $7 million from firms including 500 Startups.
Flume Internet – A minority-founded internet service provider that enables high-speed low-cost internet access by leasing unused networks from cities and utilities. The company, launched by Prashanth Vijay, is based in New York, NY.
Flume provides broadband access to customers along with premium WiFi management via tiered subscription options ranging from $35 – $50.
Pathstream – A female founded company supporting working adults to transition into high-demand digital skill careers by providing best-in-class online education and job placement.
Headquartered in San Francisco, Pathstream builds programs in fields such as data analytics and project management in direct partnership with industry-defining work-tech companies. It was founded by Eleanor Cooper.
Daylight – the start up is the first and only digital banking platform designed for and by the LGBT+ community. Previously its founder, Billie Simmons, launched a startup to help trans and non-binary people access safe services.
