ESG

As investors, board members and advisors we are highly cognizant of the effect our decisions can have upon our communities and planet. Alongside strong investment outcomes, Pender Ventures seeks to make decisions that better our world and peoples’ lives. We are proud not only to support companies that can make a positive impact in our world but to also uphold high governance standards that promote inclusiveness.

As an investment fund, we measure our impact upon the world through our portfolio companies’ alignment to six of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Diversity

We believe the diversity of our gender, race and background of experiences enhances our investment process and ultimately leads to better decisions. We also believe diversity is key to growing great companies. Without it, companies could develop significant blind spots in their assumptions about a market opportunity, how customers interact with products and how people work.

DIVERSE INVESTMENT TEAM

Gender-diverse investing teams are >3x more likely to invest in a female CEO and 2x more likely to invest in gender-diverse founders.(1), (2)

DIVERSE INVESTMENT TEAM

Gender and/or ethnically diverse founding teams are
correlated with a 30% higher multiple of invested
capital upon exit when compared to homogeneous
teams.² ³

BETTER RETURNS

As a result of diverse teams investing in diverse
founders exits for US firms with female partners are
9.7% more profitable and internal rates of return in
global emerging markets are 20% higher.⁴

Articles by Maria Pacella, CFA

Research Money: It’s time to build a foundation for more equitable entrepreneurship, economic growth.

The Impact of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion on Corporate Performance

Before venture capital can have its full impact, it must fix its own equity issues.

(1) Diana Report: Women Entrepreneurs 2014: Bridging the Gender Gap in Venture Capital, Babson College, 2014.
(2) Kauffman Fellows Research Center presentation by Nihar Neelakanti to AllRaise Summit in Sedona, Arizona, Jan 2020.
(3) Kauffman Fellows Research Center, MaC Venture Capital: “Deconstructing the Pipeline Myth and the Case for More Diverse Managers,” Feb 2020
(4) “Moving Toward Gender Balance In Private Equity and Venture Capital,” Oliver Wyman, Rock Creek, IFC | World Bank Group, March 2019.