Impact X

Impact X Capital is a venture capital firm which looks to invest in underrepresented entrepreneurs from across Europe. Impact X Capital was started by Eric Collins. Its initial founding members include Ursula Burns, Ric Lewis and Lenny Henry.

Impact X Capital
Private Ownership, Limited partnership
IndustryVenture capital
Founded2018 (2018)
FounderEric D. Collins
HeadquartersLondon,
United Kingdom
Key people
Ursula Burns
Lenny Henry
Ric Lewis
ProductsInvestments
Total assets£100 million
Websitewww.impactxcapital.com

History

Impact X Capital was started in 2018 by Eric Collins. Its initial founding members include Ursula Burns, Ric Lewis and Lenny Henry.[1][2] The venture capital (VC) fund was inspired by the lack of investment in companies led by people from underrepresented communities, with a particular focus on people of colour and women.[3][4] At the time they were founded, less than 4% of VC funding went to teams led by women, and less than 1% to people of colour.[2][5] As of December 2019, Impact X had raised over £100 million to invest in minority-led businesses.[6][7]

Team

The chief executive officer is Eric Collins[8], a tech entrepreneur and investor who previously served on Barack Obama's Small Business Administration's Council on Underserved Communities.[9][10] Principal investor, Yvonne Bajela, was selected as one of Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2020.[11] In April 2020 Paula Groves, founding partner, was selected as one of Europe's most influential women in venture capital.[12][13] Principal investor and chief technology officer, Ezechi Britton was awarded ITA's venture capitalist of the year in 2019[2][14][15]

Major investments

One of the first Impact X Capital investments was Predina, a smart navigation software which looks to prevent road traffic accidents.[1] Predina was founded by Bola Adegbulu and Meha Nelson, and makes use of artificial intelligence to predict the safest routes for any car journey.[5]

gollark: Linux permissions are, honestly, not much use in desktop environments, since if an attack on a program gets it to run arbitrary code as your user, it can still access your files and stuff. All it can't do is poke at the system files (owned by root).
gollark: There should probably be a company which does that with some sort of witty name.
gollark: Hacking space-time for fun and profit™
gollark: Also "let's spy on everyone because terrorists".
gollark: ```'I [suspect] that we are throwing more and more of our resources, including the cream of our youth, into financial activities remote from the production of goods and services, into activities that generate high private rewards disproportionate to their social productivity. I suspect that the immense power of the computer is being harnessed to this 'paper economy', not to do the same transactions more economically but to balloon the quantity and variety of financial exchanges.'--James Tobin, July 1984```

References
  1. Makortoff, Kalyeena (2019-11-16). "'We want to find gems': the black venture capitalists invested in change". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  2. "£100 million for UK black businesses". Voice Online. 2019-12-30. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  3. "Meet Ric Lewis: The fun-loving property tycoon". Evening Standard. 2020-03-20. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  4. Mararike, Shingi. "Why are there so few black millionaires on the Rich List 2020?". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
  5. "Black VC investor 'Impact X' – why people of colour and women founders in Europe are ripe for funding". www.iamnewgeneration.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  6. "London VC Fund Impact X Has 100 Million Pounds to Jump Start Minority-Led Businesses". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  7. "Episode 62: From raising over £200m to becoming a VC and trying to solve the "pipeline" problem with Ezechi Britton Principal at Impact X Capital and Co-founder of Neyber by Startup HandMeDowns • A podcast on Anchor". Anchor. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  8. Hurley, James. "Access to finance is a diversity issue". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
  9. "Eric Collins". Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  10. Anwar, Shiraz (2020-02-03). "Eric D. Collins". Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  11. "Yvonne Bajela". Impact. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  12. Tucker, Charlotte (2020-04-08). "TOP 50: Europe's most influential women in the startup and venture capital space". EU-Startups. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  13. "Impact X Team". Impact. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  14. "Episode 62: From raising over £200m to becoming a VC and trying to solve the "pipeline" problem with Ezechi Britton Principal at Impact X Capital and Co-founder of Neyber by Startup HandMeDowns • A podcast on Anchor". Anchor. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  15. "ITA Awards 2019 Winners". Inclusive Tech Alliance. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
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