WNY Impact Investment Fund is hitting the ground running in 2023.
The fund, which debuted in 2017 with $8.15 million to invest, aims to put money into startups with commercial potential that are also making a positive impact on the community.
In 2021, the group, led by CEO Tom Quinn, was actively raising a second fund, targeting $8 million to $10 million. That second fund now has $12.45 million, and the group has begun investing the money, according to a press release.
“We’ve proven we are headed in the right direction,” Quinn told Business First. “This amount of fundraising is validation of that, and it does allow us to add more resources because we really are a lean team, so more resources allows us to do more diligence, more deals, to make more investments.”
The second fund’s most recent investors include Five Star Bank, Evans Bank and Jim and Vicki Newman. Previously reported investors in the round include Bank of America and M&T Bank, among others.
The fund’s portfolio includes Circuit Clinical, Viridi Parente, CleanFiber, Garwood Medical Devices, TechBuffalo and Buffalo Film Works.
“We’re seeing high-quality investment opportunities that showcase the fortitude and innovative mindset of Western New York entrepreneurs,” Quinn said in the release. “We’re coming in to light the match on those ambitions and to play a small part in a much bigger movement.”
