Salesforce Ventures launches new $100m impact fund

Salesforce Ventures, the global investment arm of customer relationship management (CRM) company Salesforce, launched a new $100 million impact fund to support innovative companies driving positive social change. In 2017, Salesforce launched its first $50 million impact fund.

“We are in an unprecedented time as we face multiple intersecting crises – a health crisis, an economic crisis, a climate crisis, and a crisis of racial injustice. With this new fund, we will continue to invest in companies solving the world’s most pressing challenges and contributing towards a more resilient and inclusive economy – one that ensures the long-term wellness of citizens, drives job creation, protects against future shocks coming from climate change, and breaks down systemic barriers across race and gender,” says Claudine Emeott, director of impact investing at Salesforce Ventures.

Salesforce Ventures has invested in some of the most disruptive startups delivering solutions across education and reskilling, climate action, diversity, equity and inclusion, and enabling tech for nonprofits and foundations – including companies like Andela, Angaza, Ellevest, FutureFuel, Measurabl, pymetrics, Urbint and Ureeka.

Some notable highlights include: Guild Education achieved a $1 billion valuation; Unite Us was named as the 2020 start-up to watch at the JP Morgan Health Conference; Ellevest launched a membership model to reach more customers and address the gender wealth gap; Flutterwave processed over 100 million transactions across Africa, and both AdmitHub and Samasource published compelling impact evidence from randomised control trials.

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