OGCI Climate Investments (OGCI CI), a specialist decarbonisation investor, has today led an investment round of over £15 million for Converge alongside participation from existing investors. Converge is a technology company accelerating decarbonisation in the construction sector with its intelligence platform fusing physical and construction data. OGCI CI’s Series A preferred stock financing will support further product development, allowing Converge to build an independent, objectively-verifiable data model of construction and become the digital enabler for decarbonisation of the entire sector.    Converge’s ambition is to reduce average cement content in concrete by ~15%.   The broader construction industry represents close

Mediterrania Capital Partners, a private equity firm focused on growth investments for SMEs and mid-cap companies in North Africa and Sub-Saharan countries, has sold its stake in Groupe Cofina, a mesofinance and transactional financial services institution in West and Central Africa, to the Private Equity group Development Partners International (DPI). Based in Abidjan, Groupe Cofina was founded by Jean-Luc Konan in 2014 with the stated mission of helping entrepreneurs and SMEs obtain medium- or long-term financing. The group provides a wide range of banking products, including national and international cash transfers as well as financing solutions and related advisory services

ICG, a global alternative asset manager, has committed £3.75 million over three years to support innovative partnerships with three leading charities committed to improving educational opportunity and driving social mobility. These new partnerships, with The Access Project, upReach and Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO), support important socio-economic themes which are consistent with ICG’s purpose and values, and also align with the firm’s Diversity & Inclusion strategy. The partnerships extend the geographic reach of ICG’s social investment strategy from the UK into the US and continental Europe, and also across a wider spectrum of academic and career stages, focusing primarily on

Journey, a specialist in the design, build and operation of ‘immersive experiences’ has acquired three companies: ICRAVE, Futures Intelligence Group, and Skilled Creative, creating an award-winning team with capabilities across physical, digital, and virtual innovation. Backed by private equity firm Growth Catalyst Partners, Journey is led by CEO Andrew Zimmerman, former CEO of frog Design, the iconic innovation and design firm, and co-founder of Accenture Interactive and Mobility.  As Journey’s chief metaverse officer, Cathy Hackl, popularly known as the godmother of the metaverse and metaverse Web3 authority, will bring her invaluable experience and understanding of Web3 future applications to Journey’s

Flexa Careers, a platform bringing transparency to the hiring market, has raised £2.3 million ($2.9m/€2.7m) in a seed round led by Ada Ventures. Auxxo Female Catalyst Fund, angel syndicate HERmesa, and a wide group of angel investors also participated in the fund.  Flexa enables companies to showcase what their working environments offer when it comes to flexibility and benefits, and be discovered by candidates who want to know up-front how the company operates and get a transparent look at what its working policies are before applying for a role.  Flexa vets and verifies companies through a two-stage benchmarking process; looking

Compass Group Equity Partners, a St Louis-based private equity firm, has sold The Allied Group to Lab Logistics, a provider of outsourced medical supplies, kitting and logistics services to the healthcare industry and a portfolio company of Atlantic Street Capital. The Allied Group, founded in 1946, is a leading fulfilment services provider offering document management, kitting, and mailing services to healthcare and life science organisations worldwide. Compass Group acquired Allied in 2019 with a focus to invest in and expand the kitting division amid the global shift to personalised medicine. Now a core growth engine for the business, kitting has

Fintech Clear Street has raised $165 million in a Series B funding round led by Prysm Capital, a growth equity firm that partners with disruptive, category-leading companies in the technology, consumer, and healthcare sector. Additional investors included NextGen Venture Partners, Walleye Capital, Belvedere, NEAR Foundation, McLaren Strategic Ventures, and Validus Growth Investors, as well as angel investors, Illia Polosukhin (founder of NEAR), Moses Lo (founder of Xendit), and Alastair Trueger (Event Horizon Ventures). The Series B round marks Clear Street’s first venture capital raise since inception and brings its valuation to $1.7 billion. Since the beginning of 2021, Clear Street

The Autism Impact Fund (AIF), whose mission is to revolutionise the status quo for diagnosing, treating, and living with autism through a venture capital model, has formed a strategic partnership with Arsenal Capital Partners (Arsenal), a private equity firm specialising in building transformational businesses across healthcare, have entered into a strategic partnership. AIF and Arsenal will share their respective expert networks and diligence resources to pursue innovative investment opportunities in the growing behavioral health market.   Founded in 2021, AIF has invested in 10 companies, including early-stage and growth businesses. AIF makes direct investments across diverse sectors and stages of