Toronto, March 31, 2022 – Manifest Climate, the leading climate intelligence SaaS+ (software as a service) platform for public and private organizations, has completed a CAD $30 million Series A raise. The round was co-led by BDC Capital Women in Technology Venture Fund and Climate Innovation Capital, with participation from the slate of investors that backed the company’s Seed Round in February 2021— including OMERS Ventures, Golden Ventures, Garage Capital, Active Impact Investments, Klass Capital and Bryker Capital, and influential angel investors.
As an AI-powered SaaS+ platform that provides alignment with the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), Manifest Climate is widely recognized as a leader in helping organizations to identify, engage on, confidently meet disclosure obligations and build capacity to manage climate-related risks and opportunities.
Manifest’s Climate’s platform is already being used by some of the world’s largest financial, insurance, endowments and asset management organizations, as well as, real estate, mining, technology and packaged goods companies across North America, Europe and beyond. The platform is poised for rapid uptake as financial regulators globally embrace the TCFD—now endorsed by the G20, which accounts for 85% of global GDP—as the global standard. In March, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) went further and approved a proposed rule that would require companies listed on any US stock exchange to incorporate TCFD-aligned climate-related information into their periodic filings—including in their annual financial reports.
Manifest Climate’s climate intelligence software is positioned to help organizations meet their emerging regulatory obligations and increase internal competency on climate issues. Manifest Climate’s client-focused benchmarking and maturity assessment offers tailored recommendations to improve the management and disclosure of climate-related governance and risk management processes. The platform also offers real-time insight on climate-related market trends and best practices across sectors and geographies.
Current users of the climate platform include Scotiabank, Manulife, Teck Resources, BentallGreenOak, Loomis Sayles, among others.
“Our customers have been longing for a solution that helps them identify and navigate climate risks and opportunities, trends and best practices, build organizational climate-resilience and facilitate communication between management, boards and external stakeholders, aligned with TCFD as the global-standard,” said Laura Zizzo, Co-Founder and CEO of Manifest Climate. “Manifest’s platform supercharges their climate capacity for a fraction of the price of consultants and much faster, too. Investors are more confidently moving capital into climate solutions. This Series A investment is both an example of the global trend and positions us to respond to increasing market demand for our product.”
“Manifest Climate translates climate confidence into business results,” said Jeremy Greven, Co-Founder and President of Manifest Climate. “Technology is playing a bigger role in understanding climate-related risks and opportunities and by leveraging our deep climate expertise through AI, we are bringing cutting-edge tech into the world of corporate strategy and disclosure.” Greven added that the financing proceeds will support product development, international expansion and other growth-related initiatives.
“Manifest Climate shows how diverse leadership can create scalable solutions for critical problems,” said Michelle Scarborough, Managing Partner, Women in Technology Venture Fund. “Our Fund invests in women-led companies in order to make a lasting impact on the Canadian tech ecosystem.”
“Solutions that enable the decarbonization of the economy is what we search for, fund and help grow, and Manifest Climate is smartly aligned with that purpose,” said Nelson Switzer, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Climate Innovation Capital. “Manifest has the management team, the domain expertise and long-term vision needed to empower organizations to establish, enhance and execute climate strategies that will drive meaningful climate mitigation,” he added.
Manifest Climate, which featured in the G20 Innovations League’s list of top cleantech start-ups, is an emerging Canadian success story poised to scale quickly. The serially ranked Best Place to Work start-up has attracted an exceptional team of executives, climate strategists, data scientists, product developers and growth professionals. The Board of Directors will now include Michelle Scarbourgh, Nelson Switzer, Lawrence Pentland and Linda Mantia.
About BDC Capital
BDC Capital is the investment arm of BDC, the bank for Canadian entrepreneurs. BDC Capital serves as a strategic partner to the country’s most innovative firms. It offers businesses a full spectrum of capital, from seed investments to growth equity, supporting Canadian entrepreneurs who have the ambition to stand out on the world stage. Visit bdc.ca/capital.
About Climate Innovation Capital
Climate Innovation Capital (CIC) is a growth fund investing in technology and service businesses focused on climate change. We find, fund and grow climate innovations with the highest projected financial returns and the greatest decarbonization potential – delivered in the shortest period of time. We leverage our strong network and our extensive experience as operators, climate advisors and investment professionals to source attractive opportunities and enhance the growth prospects of our investments. Visit https://climateinnovationcapital.com/
About Manifest Climate
See Beyond! Manifest Climate Inc.’s SaaS+ (software as a service) platform brings clarity, efficiency and knowledge to organizations. We are a climate-focused software company powered by world-class in-house climate expertise, and a global leader in empowering organizations to learn, govern, disclose and act with climate confidence. Through a first-of-its-kind software, combined with our Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) aligned benchmarks and datasets, businesses are able to tell their climate story effectively. Manifest Climate’s TCFD Readiness Module organizes a company’s complete climate-related information, identifies gaps in their climate maturity and provides a benchmark of their climate disclosures against sector leaders. Manifest Climate’s software also provides on-demand educational resources that can be used company-wide, the ability to track legal and policy changes as they occur, and monthly curated reports with expert analysis on climate news and trends.
