Aina Abiodun, the new president and executive director of VertueLab, sees this moment as a pivotal opportunity for the climate innovation group.
The group poised to take on a bigger role in the Pacific Northwest ecosystem while a huge pot of federal funding from the Inflation Reduction Act is becoming available for projects in clean energy and the environment — areas where VertueLab has long had standing.
“A key thing we are seeing was organizations working at the intersection of funding climate justice and technology were all seeing these once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to gather 'round and think about how the IRA opportunity and how the funding sets us all up for a just (environmental) transition,” Abiodun said.
VertueLab offers support resources for founders working in cleantech and other innovations to address climate change. The group also runs the VertueLab Climate Impact Fund as well as the Cascadia Cleantech Accelerator. Since it was founded in 2007, as Oregon BEST, the group has invested $9.4 million, funded 70 companies and created more than 500 jobs, according to the group.
The group also prioritizes diversity, equity and inclusion in the organization and its work, as well as issues of environmental, social and governance.
Abiodun, who has been a venture-backed CEO and more recently climate consultant, thinks this intersection of climate innovation and social justice is critical. For those working in climate technology and innovation projects, the scope of work quickly expands to understanding how communities benefit and who benefits, she said.
“How does locally established, place-based innovation have this broader global impact,” asked Abiodun. That answer is what gets her excited about the work and drew her to her new role.
She is in the process of moving to Portland from New York. She describes herself as a professional nomad. She was born and raised in Nigeria, studied in the U.S. and spent more than four years working in Germany. She returned to the U.S. last year.
In the announcement of Abiodun’s role, VertueLab’s board noted her background in film — she has a degree in it from UCLA — and storytelling is also an important skill she brings to the job.
Part of her vision for the group is being more vocal in its work.
“There have been so many wins that are understated in VertueLab. The unique setup of the fund as a nonprofit fund. We are funding entrepreneurs and their success is feeding into the ongoing life of the fund,” she said. “VertueLab has the willingness to go in as a fund where other folks fear to tread, and that is something nonprofits should be doing. VertueLab should be more vocal about what we are doing and the results of investments. When you have those successes, it’s a moment to inspire other funders to come to the table where they have latitude to take risk.”
She is also excited to build on the group’s Pacific Northwest footprint and collaborate with more partners in both Oregon and Washington.
“The origins are in Oregon and we continue to serve Oregon, and we have Washington, which is buzzing now with activity,” she said. “There’s opportunity to collaborate between our fund and philanthropists and collaborate with state governments beyond what is already being done. The more we are able to expand our model and build on that the impact of VertueLab will be a lot bigger.”
