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Meet the First 70 European Women-Led Greentech Startups Supported by Village Capital and the VISA Foundation

Written by Ben Younkman and Marta Zaccagnini | Apr 14, 2023 11:00:00 AM

Funding into women-led climate ventures is still shockingly low — in line with global averages at around 2% of all capital allocated. We need this to change. Not only are women working in the climate tech world tenacious — they’ve already battled their way through male-dominated education systems, but recent research shows that women-led ventures deliver higher revenue and ultimately make better investments for financial backers.

With temperatures in the region recorded to be rising higher than any continent in the world, and at more than twice the global average, Europe very much needs the innovative products that women founders are developing.

Village Capital and Visa Foundation have joined forces to tackle this urgent issue, aiming to bridge the gender financing and resource gap across the continent. In its inaugural year, the program empowered 70 startups from 22 countries, with founding teams having at least one female founder and more than a third of teams having an Asian, Black, or LatinX founder.

Women all over Europe are spearheading groundbreaking solutions to the climate crisis, from sulfur-based batteries and floating solar power plants to renewable energy subscriptions for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Learn more about the 70 exceptional women-led ventures. Become part of our mentor network, and support the extraordinary startups joining the Greentech 2023 program - together, we can fuel a brighter, greener future.

Greentech companies:

  1. Algreen (United Kingdom) is developing bio-based polyurethane (PU) adhesives for the medical, fashion, packaging, furniture, and construction markets
  2. beworm (Germany) is a biocatalytic recycling process for polyethylene, the world’s most used plastic material.
  3. Biophilica (United Kingdom) is an entirely plant-based leather alternative that is recyclable as green waste, home compostable, non-toxic, plastic-free, and estimated to be carbon neutral.
  4. Carbon Ripple (United Kingdom) is the world’s first B2B payment system protecting carbon offset transactions.
  5. Carbon Saver (France) wants to use the power of AI to make ecodesign easier.
  6. Changers (Germany) is an ecosystem to fight climate change by issuing a climate currency based on CO2 savings.
  7. ChargeHorizons (Germany) is a mobile-first booking platform that shapes the tourism flows of the future in a sustainable direction.
  8. CIRCOULEUR (France) is recycling and selling paints that are better for society, health, and the planet.
  9. CO2 Diamonds (Portugal) is capturing CO2 and transforming it into diamonds.
  10. Earth Changers (United Kingdom) is a curated collection of positive-impact, sustainable tourism to help people find and book trips that change the world.
  11. Endangered Wildlife OU (Estonia) is an ESG SaaS company that is contributing toward solving the climate crisis by using technology to demonstrate the financial value of biodiversity.
  12. Era Zero Waste (Germany) is a zero waste grocery box delivered to the customer’s door
  13. Fibre Lab (United Kingdom) is a hyper-localised textile shredding and recycling service; collecting, shredding, and recycling pre-consumer textile waste from the manufacturing process by using a custom-built, small-scale shredding machine.
  14. FREAGATA SPACE (Spain) is an earth observation platform that discovers pollutants in air and water bodies using machine-learning techniques.
  15. GlobHeat (Estonia) has developed technology that improves heat pump performance severalfold, making them a viable alternative to burning fossil fuels for heating.
  16. Goodfind (United Kingdom) aggregates thousands of sustainable options to make it easy for consumers to find and compare ethical alternatives to everything in one place.
  17. Grand Bequest LTD (Scotland) is transforming empty and derelict buildings into ESG impact investments.
  18. Green Cloud Nine e.U. (Austria) is a female-led digital marketplace focused exclusively on sustainable products and services.
  19. Green Ramona Ltd (United Kingdom) is a marketplace fighting greenwashing through clean supply chains.
  20. Grow With You (Ukraine) is a subscription service that is looking to bring circularity to the toy industry.
  21. HelioRec (France) is creating simply powerful floating solar technology for near-shore locations
  22. ICI CARE (United Kingdom) is building machine-learning software to create personalized hair care products with natural raw ingredients and with plastic-free packaging.
  23. Ilu Space Oy (Finland) is a software platform that automatically calculates the carbon footprint of a company based on various data points across business operations, supply chain, finance, and other areas.
  24. Impakt ID (Bulgaria) is building a carbon footprint calculator for materials in the fashion industry.
  25. Infinite Closet (United Kingdom) is a clothing rental service focused on independent ethical and sustainable designer brands.
  26. Junee (United Kingdom) is building a decentralized model to service the growing demand for reusable food & beverage packaging.
  27. Kidsie (United Kingdom) is a mobile app marketplace for parents to shop, sell and donate second-hand baby and children’s items locally within their communities.
  28. Kiteline Health (United Kingdom) is empowering employees with long-term health and well-being issues to improve their lives through personalized health coaching, bite-sized interactive learning, and practical tools.
  29. lablaco (Italy) is building a Circular-Retail-as-a-Service platform for brands and retailers to easily tokenize products on blockchain, activating circular business models.
  30. LAM’ON (Bulgaria) develops and produces biodegradable laminating films and clear packaging foils in industry-standard thickness and roll sizes at an affordable price
  31. LOONAWELL (Switzerland) is a revolution in pet food with a positive nutritional impact for dogs.
  32. MaritimeAPI (United Kingdom) is a decarbonization platform to monitor, reduce and offset carbon emissions for ships. MaritimeAPI offers software development and subject matter expertise on sustainable products in shipping.
  33. Matter (Portugal) is reshaping the narrative around solid organic waste and its mission is to create innovative aesthetic and sustainable products.
  34. Mudatuga (Portugal) is trying to solve bio-waste management issues on a micro level.
  35. MUXIMA BIO BV (Portugal) is investing in scientific research of alternative protein sources, combining scientific knowledge and prime technology and focusing on the development of high-efficiency bioproducts.
  36. Nettle TOC b.v. (Netherlands) creates bioplastic composites that can be used to replace plastic and are biodegradable and recyclable.
  37. Noosa (Belgium) is a bio-renewable textile fiber, which is endlessly recyclable.
  38. NuSpec Oil  (United Kingdom) is pioneering development of biodegradable and thermo-stable base oils for the lubricant and chemical industries.
  39. Nyala (Belgium) uses technology to trace, measure, validate, and benchmark the impact of the product journey through the supply chain.
  40. OMGYNO IKE (Greece) is an online female-focused health platform that is redesigning the gynecological experience.
  41. Ormex (France) is a digital voluntary marketplace of agricultural carbon credits.
  42. Perse (Ukraine) is a data service to quantify historical energy and carbon profiles, and predict and reconcile any energy or carbon transaction.
  43. Polymore (Romania) helps recycling companies determine and locate households where waste is wrongly sorted.
  44. R-Create (Romania) is the first B2B digital platform offering packaging-as-a-service for online stores.
  45. Recycglobe (Greece) is designing, developing, and manufacturing various innovative SaaS and IoT products to improve waste and recycling management.
  46. RediGo (United Kingdom, Poland) is a Go-To sustainability platform, motivating businesses to have a more positive environmental impact.
  47. ReLi (Germany) is manufacturing sustainable, affordable, and reliable energy storage solutions by refurbishing batteries from electric vehicles.
  48. Repair Rebels (Germany) is an online platform for shoe and textile repairs and alterations
  49. Satatland Circular Fashion (United Kingdom) is creating impactful circular clothing for eco-conscious millennial women that restores the planet for her, without owning or taking responsibility for it.
  50. Seeds of Colour (United Kingdom) is a green biotech beauty company on a mission to celebrate nature, seed change and, save the environment, using innovative technology to extract pigments from plants to create naturally colored beauty products.
  51. SilviBio (United Kingdom) provides innovative seed technologies to protect plants from environmental stress and enable higher yields.
  52. SINERGY FLOW (Italy) is a sustainable, low-cost, and highly efficient redox flow battery for long-duration energy storage applications.
  53. S.Lab (Ukraine) is a manufacturer of biodegradable packaging and decorations made of hemp and mycelium.
  54. Smart Forest (United Kingdom) is creating a marketplace for forest assets investing, turning every tree into a collectible non-fungible token, tradable digital asset (on the blockchain) making forest investing and crypto numismatic feasible for everyone.
  55. Solhotair (Poland) is a high-efficiency air solar heating collector, saving up to 40% of building heating costs.
  56. Spedal (United Kingdom) is a same day, zero-emission courier service that makes it easier for businesses to send parcels across the city by bike.
  57. Sustainify (Denmark) is providing sustainability data to enable investors to make better investment decisions.
  58. Surova (Iceland) is a high-tech company developing autonomous farming solutions for food retailers that increase profit margins and unmet supply of local produce in import-reliant countries.
  59. Superkons (Sweden) provides dilutable super concentrates for everyday products to eliminate single-use plastic.
  60. Sustie (Norway) is empowering and inspiring users to make sustainable decisions when shopping online.
  61. TechniFris (Netherlands) provides a sustainable solution to food loss in the supply chain which is 100% safe for both humans and the environment.
  62. Thalie Paris (France) is a sustainable handbag and accessories company that uses innovative and recycled materials to reimagine French luxury leather goods.
  63. The 0-Mission (Denmark) is a marketplace connecting developers of renewable energy projects, with climate-conscious corporations.
  64. The Sacred Groves C.I.C. (United Kingdom) is a  Community Interest Company is driven by the purpose of protecting our planet’s natural habitats.
  65. Thymia (United Kingdom) is an AI-based SaaS with speech, video, and behavioral data for tracking depression, with the mission of making mental health as objectively measurable and monitorable as physical health.
  66. Tierra Foods (United Kingdom) is a food company for the 21st Century, developing nutritious ingredients that will help change the way we farm, help to restore soils and biodiversity, and capture carbon.
  67. Toboro (Romania) addresses overconsumption and waste generated by excessive ownership.
  68. TripDoodler (Denmark) is a platform where conscious travelers can find and share verified sustainable travel options through a searchable database.
  69. Twipes (United Kingdom) is a brand of biodegradable and flushable wet wipes that break down in water within three hours, and in a landfill in seven days.
  70. Vyld (Germany) develops and produces radically sustainable, healthy, and ocean-friendly period products from seaweed.