HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam, June 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The event "VC after the pandemic: Better return, Better impact" is the effort to introduce investors and entrepreneurs to the way impact venture capital (VC) works. Hosted by Wiziin Inc. and New Energy Nexus, in collaboration with PR Newswire, "VC after the pandemic: Better return, Better impact" delivers investor's deep insights and real time experiences to help current and future investor have more diverse perspectives on "profit" and "impact" concept, also have the opportunity to interact directly with the elites in this industry.
"A lot of VCs were telling me that everything just froze," says Ilya A. Strebulaev, Director of the Venture Capital Initiative at Stanford Graduate School of Business, in the very first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yes, venture capital firms, like most of the global economy, essentially shut down.
Just before the pandemic, when we were still living in normal world, cash flow from venture capital funds grow relatively with US$136.5 billion released to US-based companies, EUR 24.3 billion across 5,929 deals in Europe in 2018. In Asia – Pacific Region, VC investment volume (with disclosed deal value) and value increased by 36.9% and 17.9%, respectively.
While many people celebrate the number of deals and the amount of cash release together with significant valuation, some us start asking: "Would the returns bring a better future for us, a future in which environmental issues and social problems are seriously addressed?"
In reality, the figures show that we, especially investors, are gradually increasing the capital to companies focused on environmental, social and governance (ESG). Impact investing accounts for over 15% of total European VC investment, 3 times more compared to a decade ago. Global VC investment in impact startups is set to surpass EUR 19 billion in 2020, making up 7% of global VC investment. Impact is no longer fringe activity, but finding real tractions and proven success in Europe and around the world.
The new normal is gradually shaping within the VC world. On the one hand, applying investment technology like platform and AI algorithms may open the novel and effective approach to venture investment when the normal interaction is required to be limited. On the other hand, investors are also searching for new investment strategies and methods that deliver more sustainable value to the investment deals.
