Salesforce Ventures, Salesforce [NYSE: CRM]’s corporate investment group, has raised $50m for its latest fund.
The Salesforce Impact Fund will focus on investing in a new generation of startups that are focused on driving positive change using Salesforce technology to address challenges across:
– Workforce development, backing companies enabling equal access to education to prepare students and the workforce for jobs of the future;
– Equality, backing companies developing tools that promote equal opportunity and economic empowerment for women and underrepresented groups;
– Sustainability, backing companies creating better access to clean energy, improving resource efficiency and increasing supply chain performance; and
– Social sector, backing companies amplifying impact for nonprofits and NGOs through technology that increases efficiency and transparency.
The first funding recipients include:
– Angaza, a SaaS platform that enables manufacturers and distributors to make clean energy products more affordable to off-grid consumers;
– Ellevest, an investing platform designed for women that aims to solve the gender investment gap;
– Hustle, a peer-to-peer text messaging platform enabling non-profits, educational institutions and advocacy groups to connect with donors and constituents at scale;
– Viridis Learning, a human capital SaaS platform that uses machine learning and predictive analytics to facilitate career discovery, create career pathways and ensure learning aligns with 21st century workforce needs.
FinSMEs
03/10/2017