Lightrock Latest - October 2024

Dear friends of Lightrock,

As conference season is in full swing, we're excited to share the latest highlights from across the Lightrock ecosystem - from our portfolio companies' achievements to our upcoming events and initiatives.

With our best wishes,

The Global Lightrock Team

Lightrock Updates

Lightrock completed a follow-on investment in its portfolio company Distribusion Technologies – a leading B2B ground transportation marketplace – as part of its oversubscribed Series C funding round.

Distribusion has been part of Lightrock’s portfolio since 2022. It enables travellers to use less carbon-intensive modes of transport, such as buses, coaches, and trains, instead of planes and private cars by facilitating seamless comparison and ticket purchases on platforms that travellers know and trust.

Check out Tech.eu ’s article for more details.

Lightrock participated in another Series C funding round, with a follow-on investment in Moniepoint Group .

Lightrock added Moniepoint to its portfolio in 2021. It is an all-in-one payments, banking, and operations platform extending reliable banking technology to underserved businesses and individuals in Nigeria and beyond. The financing round brought Moniepoint’s valuation to over $1 billion, meaning it has reached “unicorn” status.

Click on the Financial Times ’s article for further details.

Lightrock is bringing back the Slush Climate Summit to Slush 2024 !

The Summit is the only official Slush Sustainability Side Event, bringing together leading founders, investors, and thought leaders to address the paramount issue of our generation: climate change. Co-hosted by Lightrock, Transition , and Extantia , the event takes place on Thursday 21st November between 13:00-15:30 (EET) at the main conference venue.

You can register to attend the Summit here .

Our impact management system was reverified by BlueMark , a leading independent verification specialist.

As an inaugural signatory to the Operating Principles for Impact Management (OPIM, Impact Principles ), Lightrock is committed to market best practices, including regular third party verifications of our approach to impact management and measurement.

BlueMark assessed our alignment with OPIM in both 2021 and 2024, which you can read more about here .

Since our first verification, Lightrock has improved its performance across two principles and exceeded the median rating across four other areas that BlueMark assesses, as shown below.

Lightrock was featured on a landmark list of impact investors produced by the Financial Times and The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN).

The data, which Lightrock contributed to, aims to provide an overview of the impact sector globally and forms part of broader research on the growth of the industry.

You can learn more about the resource for investors here .

Lightrock Portfolio Progress

Discover some examples of how Lightrock’s investments address the world’s greatest challenges:

Africa

M-KOPA surpassed 5 million users , which have benefitted from over US $1.5 billion in financing.

MAX launched a rural eMobility programme in Sierra Leone using bikes suited to the region’s terrain, in partnership with Energicity .

Europe & North America

CMR Surgical embarked on the world’s first paediatric clinical trial using Versius, focusing on urological procedures.

Dataiku featured in Forbes ’s The Cloud 100 of 2024 , which ranks the private ventures leading the cloud and AI technology revolution.

India

NeoGrowth Credit Pvt. Ltd. supplied over 3,600 women-owned MSMEs with business loans in FY 2024, further demonstrating its commitment to financial inclusivity.

Niyo Solutions Inc. expanded its travel banking offerings with flight booking and visa application services.

Latin America

Buser Brasil launched an online service in Brazilian sign language to enhance the platform’s accessibility.

Creditas ranked as Brazil’s top fintech in IBEVAR - Instituto Brasileiro de Executivos de Varejo and FIA Business School ’s analysis of consumer comments.

Lightrock In The News

Head of Impact LatAm Tatiana Freire Sasson explored the subjects of impact vs. ESG?and LatAm’s sustainable investment potential in her op-ed for Valor Econ?mico .

Director of Portfolio Impact Mehdi L. discussed how ESG considerations are integrated throughout the investment cycle in an article for VentureESG .

Chief Compliance Officer Mark Pleaner discussed how private investment firms can scale their compliance function across geographies and asset classes in The Drawdown ’s article .

LGT Private Banking ’s Insights magazine spotlighted Kebony , uncovering the “special sauce” in creating sustainable wood products, which support the prevention of deforestation.

Lightrock Live

Check out our recent ecosystem engagement:

Where we’ve been:

???? IPEM in Paris, France.

???? The Drop in Malm?, Sweden, where Estella Langheim co-moderated a workshop for The Climate Brick .

???? New York Climate Week in New York, US.

???? SuperReturn Asia in Singapore.

???? GITEX Impact in Dubai, UAE, where Partner Ashish (Ash) Puri explored the strategies for integrating climate technology into leadership approaches.

???? Tortoise Media ’s Responsible Investment Forum in Waddesdon, UK, where Partner Kevin Bone discussed identifying breakthrough investments that also protect health and peace.

???? The Global Impact Investing Network 's Impact Forum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

???? FT Live Africa Summit in London, UK. CEOs from three of our portfolio companies – Tosin Eniolorunda of Moniepoint Group , Wayne Hennessy-Barrett of 4G Capital , and Jesse Moore of M-KOPA – explored fintech’s influence in growing consumer banking across Africa on-stage.

Where we’re going:

???? Wednesday 6th to Thursday 7th November: Lightrock will be attending the Impact/Week 2024 by Norrsken VC in Barcelona, Spain.

???? Tuesday 12th to Wednesday 13th: Lightrock will be attending the Impact & Transition Investor Summit by New Private Markets in New York, US.

???? Tuesday 19th November: Lightrock will be attending the Investors Meeting by Global Private Capital Association in London, UK.

???? Wednesday 20th to Thursday 21st November: Lightrock will be at Slush in Helsinki, Finland.

???? Monday 25th November: Partner Christopher Steinau is supporting ClimateImpact ’s Growth Retreat in London, UK as its newest Advisory Board member.

???? Thursday 28th November: Fil Lekkas will be discussing the scaling opportunities for startups in Europe at the GovTech Connect Assembly in Brussels, Belgium.

???? Tuesday 3rd to Thursday 5th December: Lightrock will be attending SuperReturn Africa in Cape Town, South Africa.

If you’re interested in meeting up with our colleagues to learn more about Lightrock, please reach out via LinkedIn.

To sign up to Lightrock Latest, please click here .