Mirova has launched a social impact private equity strategy designed to support the growth of unlisted European companies that contribute to the transition towards a better society.
The Mirova Impact Life Essentials (MILE) fund, which is intended to classify as an Article 9 fund under European SFDR regulation, aims to raise €200m from institutional and individual investors in Europe. It will be spearheaded by senior investment director, Judith-Laure Mamou-Mani.
Climate change, an ageing population, technological developments and growing inequalities were all cited as societal challenges that Mirova hopes to address with the MILE fund.
On the launch, Marc Romano, head of impact private equity funds at Mirova, said: “We are proud to announce the project launch of this new strategy, which will enable institutional and retail investors to have a tangible social and societal impact by contributing to the growth of companies committed to basic needs. Convinced that companies developing innovative technological solutions have the greatest scope for growth, we are offering our clients the opportunity to combine a positive societal impact with attractive potential returns.”
Mamou-Mani added: “At a time when profound paradigm shifts are underway, the project launch of MILE is positioned to support this inevitable societal transition, which will impact our lifestyles. It will give investors access to an unrivalled ecosystem dedicated to impact and real assets”.
According to Mirova, the MILE strategy will use a proven business model to pursue a positive societal impact around four investment themes: knowledge and skills, well-being and health, diversity and inclusion and mindful consumption.
The fund is set to favour an opportunistic approach, with minority and majority stakes throughout the capital deployment period. Mirova said that its team is already building the projects pipeline to enable rapid deployment of the fund with first investments over the coming months.
Additionally, an impact mechanism is due to be set up through MILE with Mirova Foundation, its endowment fund: part of the fund’s management fees will be used to finance philanthropic projects.
