Ecology Media

Sometimes VCs get caught up in the excitement of backing a company and choose to ignore warning signs. Unwise decisions are made and due diligence is bypassed, leading to economic and reputational repercussions that have lasting effects on both the investment community and the fintech ecosystem... Interesting piece on VCs and due diligence by Daniel Gusev at Gauss Ventures for Fintech Direct https://lnkd.in/gCimdwy

🌍💡 Exciting News in the Clean Energy Space! 🌱 The UK Government has secured a record pipeline of clean, affordable energy projects, set to power 11 million homes. This milestone underscores the UK's commitment to a greener, more sustainable future. "This makes it the biggest round ever with significant numbers for onshore wind, solar and tidal energy" Exciting times ahead for renewable energy and climate action! #CleanEnergy #RenewableEnergy #Sustainability #UKGovernment #GreenFuture

Balderton Capital, known for high-profile seed investments in Revolut and Depop, announced $1.3 billion in new funding for European tech startups 📈🇬🇧 $615 million will be set aside for early-stage startups and $685 million designated for "growth investing" in fast-scaling startups 🚀 Managing Partner Bernard Liautaud signalled a unique approach to investing in the AI boom, stating "We haven't been convinced that the underlying AI infrastructure is the best place to get returns" Bernard's betting on the success of AI applications: "The opportunity is that it actually goes very fast and it actually transforms every sector. And that's what we're betting on." Read more in Tim Bradshaw's article for The Financial Times: https://lnkd.in/er2tKaEb Katerina Fernandes | Brianna Henderson | Milorad Doljanin | Georgia Hanias | Mouloukou S. | Nkiru Uwaje | Becky Sales | Robert Welbourn | Adisa A. #Funding #Fintech #Tech #UKTech

Investments in CleanTech are set to top $2 trillion in 2024, reports the International Energy Agency (IEA), up from $1.7 trillion last year 📈 Better yet, investments in CleanTech make up 2/3rds of the total $3 trillion put to work in the energy sector 🌿🚀 However, the figure still falls short of the IEA's $4.5 trillion target for annual CleanTech investment by 2030 to meet net zero targets, calling on the energy industry to do more in the switch from fossil fuels - Rachel Millard reports for the Financial Times (link in comments) ⚡️ With the appointment of Milorad Doljanin as Head of ESG and Sustainability at Ecology Media we're excited to be playing a more active role in meeting the #netzero challenge! Katerina Fernandes | Charlie King | Georgia Hanias | Adele Barlow | Adisa A. | Brianna Henderson | #ESG #Hiring #CleanTech

Last month, UK bank for fintechs Griffin became a B Corp, reinforcing its commitment to sustainability and ethical business practices 🌿 The prestigious certification measures a company's entire social and environmental impact, with a score of 80 required to achieve B Corp status; Griffin scored 91.5 🚀 David Jarvis, Griffin's CEO added "With the FCA’s new anti-greenwashing rule now in effect, certifications like B Corp provide a solid benchmark for good practice to keep us in check and ensure we are living up to our claims" Read more in FinTech Futures: https://lnkd.in/eZ8uCeaK Katy Zack | Milorad Doljanin | Katerina Fernandes | Nkechinyere O. | Cameron Emanuel-Burns | Tyler Pathe | Georgia Hanias | Adisa A. #ESG #Sustainability #BCorp

Last week, pioneering on-chain financing fintech Mansa launched its first liquidity pool on Base 🚀 With operations in Nairobi and London, Mansa is enabling businesses across Africa to access trade finance and cross-border payments liquidity without the normal headaches. 🌍 Mouloukou S., Mansa's CEO: "This move will help businesses overcome USD limitations and manual processes that have long-constrained growth. Our platform unlocks new sources of liquidity, directly addressing the credit gap in emerging markets." Read more in The Fintech Times: https://lnkd.in/e7Vk7vdh Sharon Olende | Nkiru Uwaje | Francis Bignell | Ikenna Obenze | Georgia Hanias | Thomas Bleach | Claire Woffenden | David Sherman #DeFi #Blockchain #Fintech

The EPI has begun to roll out Wero, its pan-European account-to-account payments solution. But key questions remain unanswered, writes Rivero's Fatemeh Nikayin, PhD: "Despite clarifications from the EPI earlier this year, adoption of industry-standard best practices remain uncertain, and participating banks still lack clear dispute management guidelines." Details about scheme compliance, a key pillar of any payments network, and guidelines for fraud management have received no public clarification, leaving the final form of the EPI's Wero uncertain. Read Fatemeh's article for FinTech Futures ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/eDid3cMm Paul Hindle | Tyler Pathe | Thomas Müller | Caitlynn Dykstra | Katerina Fernandes | Adisa A. | Cameron Emanuel-Burns | John Ryan | Milorad Doljanin | Georgia Hanias | Nadia Benaissa | David Birch | Peter Theunis #EPI #A2APayments #Fintech #Payments

17 months after MNT-Halan announced a $400 million investment to become Egypt's first unicorn, the Egyptian startup has secured $157.5 million in a new funding round to fuel its expansion beyond Egypt. Here's the full story by Abdullah AJIBADE for Techpoint Africa #egyptianfintech #fintechinAfrica https://lnkd.in/dFj89wcb

tapi, the LATAM payments processor hailing from Buenos Aires, announced a cool $22 million in funding last Friday 🇦🇷 🚀 The next-gen payment processor enables partner fintechs to process recurring payments and digital gift cards payments, as well as automate billing for services via a single API connection. Bloomberg's Patrick Gillespie interviewed Tapi founder Tomas Mindlin, who identified cash-heavy economy Mexico as a key market for the next year. With tapi he aims to boost financial inclusion by increasing digital payment adoption. Read Patrick's coverage of the funding round here: https://lnkd.in/e3MCXD_4 Catalina Jiménez Combariza | Nadia Benaissa | Ion Fratiloiu | Becky Sales | Laura O Gorman | Nim Haas | Efi Pylarinou | Nikhil Gokhale | Nkiru Uwaje

Mistral AI, the trailblazing AI startup hailing from Paris, has just secured EUR 460 million in its latest equity funding round, catapulting its valuation to EUR 5.8 billion. 🚀 This fresh influx of capital brings the company’s total raised funds to a remarkable EUR 600 million, demonstrating its rapid ascent to the forefront of the AI arms race. This funding round saw participation from new investor DST Global, alongside support from existing backer General Catalyst. This exciting development comes off the back of an impressive $415 million Series A Round less than a year ago, which was spearheaded by leading VC A16z and valued Mistral AI at $2 billion. Mistral AI continue de repousser les frontières de l’Intelligence Artificielle! 🇫🇷 Read more in this article by Tech Funding News : https://lnkd.in/drq8qs4x Akansha Dimri | Abhinaya Prabhu | Alexi Markham #FrenchTech #FrenchAI #EuropeanTech