Maite Fibla: “The startups in our portfolio have increased their revenues by 192% and created more than 229 jobs in the last year. This shows that changing the world and generating economic wealth is not only possible, but a winning combination when the business model is well designed”

Maite holds a PhD in Economics and is co-founder and Managing Partner of Ship2B Ventures, an Impact Venture Capital firm founded in late 2020 that manages more than €60M. She is also co-founder of Ship2B Foundation born in 2013, a non-profit entity that accelerates and accompanies impact startups, promotes Venture Philanthropy programs and corporate impact venturing programs in large companies. To date Maite has invested in more than 50 impact startups and has made 3 exits. She has also helped accelerate more than 200 startups that have raised more than €100M.

How would you define Ship2B Ventures’ main objectives in terms of driving social and environmental impact through investment?

Ship2B Ventures was born with a clear purpose: to promote solutions that solve the most pressing social and environmental problems of our society and that have sustainable business models. Therefore, our objective is twofold: on the one hand, to solve social and/or environmental problems, and on the other, to generate economic wealth for investors, entrepreneurs and society in general.

To do so, we invest in startups that develop impact solutions that generate deep, scalable and truly transformative impacts, always with profitable business models. We have currently invested in more than 51 high-impact startups that address two main challenges: improving the quality of life of vulnerable groups, such as the elderly and those with chronic conditions, and the fight against climate change. With our current portfolio, we aim to improve the lives of more than 200,000 people over the next three years and contribute to the reduction of more than 1 million tonnes of CO₂.

We are also deeply committed to gender equality. Although we do not have a quota policy, in our latest fund, 60% of our startups are founded or co-founded by women, an extraordinary figure in the sector. And 52% of the staff in these tech companies are women, with a virtually non-existent pay gap.

How does Ship2B manage the balance between financial profitability and social impact in its investment decisions? Is it possible to ensure that social/environmental impact does not penalise financial profitability?

Our model seeks to balance the impact-return-risk trinomial. This means integrating this analysis from the beginning of the investment process and having a team that has a deep understanding of how to maximise all three factors simultaneously. Achieving this balance takes time and learning, especially if the goal is to generate deep and real impacts, not superficial ones. The key is to align the startup’s solution with the social or environmental problem it is trying to solve. When this alignment is solid, the impact reinforces economic profitability and the risk of trade-offs between the two is minimised.

Our results prove it: the startups in our portfolio have increased their revenues by 192% and created more than 229 jobs in the last year. Moreover, for every euro we have invested, they have mobilised an additional €1.5 of conventional capital. This is evidence that changing the world and generating economic wealth is not only possible, but a winning combination when the business model is well designed.

What emerging trends do you see in impact investing in Europe and how do you expect this sector to evolve over the next five years?

Impact investing has grown exponentially, from just over $100 billion in 2017 to $1.5 trillion in 2024. This growth has also been accompanied by a growth in the volume of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investment, reflecting the global interest in more responsible investments. However, an ESADE study warns that, even with the increase in the volume of impact investing and ESG investment, we are on track to achieve only 15% of the EU’s Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. This is because many of the investments that are currently being made with responsible or impact criteria are aimed at solutions that do not address the root of social and environmental problems, remaining superficial impacts.

The future of impact investing must move towards more transformative and systemic approaches if we are serious about eradicating the social and environmental problems we face as a society. It is not enough to mobilise capital for impact projects; it is essential to ensure that each investment has real additionality, generating deep and sustainable change. Impact investment must be clearly differentiated from ESG investment, which often simply funds superficial solutions without tackling the root of the problems and generating systemic change. In Europe, we are already seeing an increased focus on systemic impact investment, which seeks structural change, and on mobilising resources towards critical areas such as health, climate change and social inclusion. For example, if we talk about impact investing in the health and social sector, what systemic change does the European health and social system need? Which social or health startups help us move towards the systemic change we need? How can impact investors contribute through their investments to bring about the change we need?

These are the issues that will set the agenda for European impact investors investing in the health and social sector in the coming years. In fact, they are the issues that are currently setting the investment thesis of the new impact fund that we are launching from Ship2B Ventures and that we expect to close by mid-2025.

Many of the start-ups invested by Ship2B Ventures have digital developments aimed at better management of the elderly and patients with chronic diseases. How do you see the emergence of AI in this field and in particular the challenge of managing patient data?

More than 50% of our investments are focused on improving the quality of life of older people and patients with chronic diseases. We take a holistic view, investing in solutions ranging from prevention and early diagnosis to treatment, monitoring and social inclusion. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning represent a revolutionary opportunity in this area. These technologies make it possible to personalise diagnoses, optimise treatments and improve patient and user monitoring, scaling the impact of solutions and reducing costs for healthcare systems. Some examples in our portfolio are Sycai, MJN, Doctomatic or Envita. However, patient data management is a key challenge. Privacy, interoperability and ethics must be priorities. It is crucial to ensure that data is used securely, transparently and with the informed consent of patients. Furthermore, the quality of the data and its analysis will determine the success of these solutions.

Your investments focus on environmental sustainability and climate change as well as quality of life and health. Do you see the two aspects becoming more and more interrelated? Have you seen an increase in start-ups looking at developments where the interconnection of both aspects through real world data is more important?

Of course, these two aspects are increasingly intertwined. We cannot talk about quality of life without considering the impact of climate change, which severely affects health and wellbeing, especially for vulnerable groups such as the elderly or those with chronic diseases. In recent years, we have seen an increase in startups working at this intersection, using real-world data to design innovative solutions. For example, some companies are developing tools that combine environmental impact analysis with predictive health modelling, enabling more effective interventions. This convergence is key to tackling complex problems. For example, solutions that combine climate and health data can prevent respiratory diseases aggravated by pollution or design infrastructure that is more resilient to extreme events that affect public health.