Venture capital firm 3XP Global will start operations in Spain in 2024, where it is already looking for startups to invest in. The Portuguese company specialises in impact investments, which are intended to add social or environmental impact to financial performance.

With that focus, 3XP Global operates in three verticals: healthcare and life sciences, where it currently manages two funds; responsible AI, with one fund under management; and impact investing, with one fund. The fund, which will be launched jointly in Spain and Portugal, amounts to 25 million euros.

Doing good and making money at the same time
Asked by Invest In Spain about their objectives, Rita Branco, Impact Partner at 3XP Global, explained, “By managing the first Social Iberian Impact fund, we are looking for the best impact companies (companies in any industry with a positive social or environmental impact) in Spain and Portugal. We will also invest in global impact companies looking to expand into these Iberian countries. We want to show that it is possible to do good and make money at the same time, so that we achieve a systemic impact in several areas and in a sustainable way in the long term. Investing is a way of life. Impact investment is the right thing to do.”

Regarding their decision to bring their investments to Spain, Branco said, “For a Portuguese private equity firm like ours, Spain was the perfect match. Our two countries have many synergies and similarities, and we felt we had to build on these advantages. Creating the first Iberian Social Impact Fund will allow us to scale this impact mission, support our portfolio companies in a much broader way, mitigate risk and be even more attractive to our investors. And this is just the beginning...”

Impact Ecosystem
According to Branco, the impact ecosystem is quite similar in the two countries: “Spain and Portugal have amazing social entrepreneurs and impact companies with outstanding results (non-financially and financially speaking). The two countries share the same values: they are really good entry points to Europe and perfect places to test impact solutions. 3XP Global hopes to make a difference with this Iberian social impact fund.”

In November, a team from 3XP Global visited La Nave, a centre in Madrid that brings together entrepreneurs, startups, investors, corporations and innovative professionals. There they were able to gain first-hand insight into four innovative projects: Menostrash, Ualoh, Factoría de Patologías and Ayúdame3D. The picture shows Guillermo Martínez Gauna-Vivas, the driving force behind this latest project, giving a demonstration to visitors.

First investments
Branco explained that her company has already looked at a number of companies in Spain, “Over the last year, we have partnered with many strategic partners across Spain – from incubators to accelerators, universities, public institutions and impact partners – and, as a result, we have been meeting some amazing impact startups from various industries, some of which we will certainly invest in. In fact, our first impact investment was in Spain, in La Bolsa Social, at the end of this year.

The type of impact investments that 3XP Global targets are those that propose positive solutions, as Branco pointed out, “We are a generalist fund that will invest in companies whose social and environmental interventions can become global benchmarks through the solutions they implement. As an impact fund, we invest in companies that have gone through the appropriate proof of concept (pre-series A, series A) and, as a result, are entering a growth phase, often reflected in a stage of scalability or internationalisation of their business.”

Companies and teams
As well as looking at the companies' proposition, investments also look  at the people behind it, “We invest in companies and their management teams, who will have to align with our metrics for financial and impact objectives. Regardless of the industry or solution, we will invest in talent and consequently in results, leading to successful exits. The investment amount of the impact innovation fund per end beneficiary must be at least 250,000 euros, with a maximum amount of 5 million euros.”

Behind the company's investments in Spain, there are already two people working from Barcelona, and there are already plans to expand the team in 2024.

^{Photo: La Nave}