'StartGreen is such a diverse company, you don't run out of things to learn here easily.'

30 June 2022

Flo Schepers is undertaking a traineeship at StartGreen. She has a strong affinity for Africa, female entrepreneurs, and sustainability, so she feels right at home at StartGreen. This is especially true now that StartGreen is setting up a fund with Evenpar for renewable energy projects in Africa.

Trainee Programme
‘During this two-year trainee programme, I – like my two fellow trainees Xavier and Michiel – will be introduced to at least four of the six StartGreen funds. Every six months, we will move to a different fund. This way, we will learn about different funding methods and the various focus areas of the funds.

Double impact
After my Master's in Entrepreneurship, I really wanted to do something that made an impact. I believe you can make the biggest impact by bringing money to places where it's needed. That's how I got into impact investing. As far as I know, StartGreen is the only venture capital firm that has a traineeship programme, and with so many different funds too. I can figure out here what role suits me best. Moreover, the focus here is on impact: not only financial, but certainly also social.

Well bred
As a trainee, I do analyst work and learn everything about the profession as I go. We receive very broad training and learn about the different ways of investing in StartGreen's three main themes: renewable energy, circular economy, and diversity. Fund has its own main focus. For example, it focuses Energiefonds Overijssel primarily on the energy transition and Borski Fund tech innovations and female entrepreneurs. An additional benefit: as rotating analysts, we ensure that knowledge from one fund is shared even better with the other funds.

Lucky coincidence
For the first six months, I worked for Energiefonds Overijssel and for Evenpar, which will finance infrastructure projects for renewable energy in emerging markets. Having grown up in Kenya and studied in South Africa, I have a great affinity for Africa. When I started here, StartGreen was just launching the Evenparfonds, so that was a very happy coincidence for me. It fits my interests perfectly; I believe there are many investment opportunities in Africa that can make a significant difference. There are a lot of start-ups in Kenya and especially in Nairobi. That region is also referred to as the Silicon Savannah named.

Challenging prejudice
During my studies, I founded a company myself in Kenya with Kenyan women. Via the platform Haberdashery story I design products together with Kenyan talent that resonate with the Dutch market. The website also features stories of the makers, so visitors can see how much talent, creativity, and entrepreneurship there is in Kenya. Via Trade Not Aid will we also stimulate the local economy with this. I am also a photographer. With my photos of Africa Let me show you how much luck and beautiful nature there is. By giving my vision of Africa, I want to combat certain prejudices about this continent and inspire people.

Different phases
Evenpar is currently fundraising. As an analyst for Evenpar, I have been broadly involved in filling the data room and writing the investment memorandum. I have also been reaching out to investors and projects seeking investment within my network in Kenya. Furthermore, I have a promotional video and the Website made to provide investors with a clear picture.

Since 1 May, I have been working four days for Borski Fund and one day for Evenpar. I really enjoy remaining involved with Evenpar. A lot is happening at Borski right now. It's in a completely different phase: Evenpar is starting up, while Borski has been going for a few years. It's very interesting to see those differences. Borski also has a completely different focus. This fund is aimed at female-led businesses and primarily invests in femtech, Healthtech, fintech and recently also in deathtechWe are working on a platform that closes and deletes all accounts of a deceased person.

From intake to closing
At Borski, I'm involved in all stages of the investment process: from initial contact to closing. If it turns out a company meets the Norwegian criteria, we invite them for an initial meeting. Then I carry out a quick scan: do we want to proceed with this company? If so, I will conduct an in-depth analysis. I look at the market, the product or service, and the finances. If the investment proposal is approved, we will prepare a Term sheet In it, we describe the form of financing and the terms under which we will invest. After that, the due diligence process will take place, in which I have not yet been involved.

Nice surprise
Now that the first period is over, I can say that analyst work is broader and more diverse than I had imagined. I also have more responsibility and input than expected, which I really enjoy. If you have a specific interest, you can look for companies in that area. I find it a very pleasant surprise that there is room for this. I also find it very interesting to be involved in the entire process. This allows you to really build a relationship with entrepreneurs.

Growing through
I have a good relationship with my fellow trainees, Xavier and Michiel. Additionally, the three of us each have a sponsor with whom we have objective-setting and review meetings. Your sponsor is also a kind of confidant you can turn to within the company. It's great that they guide you through the entire traineeship. At the beginning, I also had a buddy, who ensured a soft landing.

Where I go from here is not yet decided. Ultimately, I want to become an investment manager at one of the funds. StartGreen is such a diverse company, you never run out of things to learn and you can grow in different ways.’