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GENDER & CLIMATE
From Commitment to Action
Last year, Peak Sustainability Ventures signed a formal gender commitment with IFC-led We Fund Climate program.
Here is our update on how we are building gender equity into climate investing, across every layer of our operations since.
THE NUMBERS
Progress at a Glance
44%
Female Startup Engagement
From 20% to 44% women-founded pipeline in one year - nearly half of startups we have actively engaged with this year have had atleast one woman founder on the team.
43%
Women on our Investment Team
We are proud to have female representation across seniority levels on our investment team.
80%
Women Farmers
Our portfolio company, Chlorohemp, works with a majority of women farmers, offering higher crop income to marginalised communities.
OUR JOURNEY
How We Got Here
Intentional Sourcing Partnerships
We actively partnered with organisations that support and aggregate women founders in climate, creating a deliberate pipeline rather than waiting for deal flow to come to us. This resulted in 44% of actively considered companies in our pipeline being women-led.
01
Gender-lens Sector Thesis Integration
Applying a gender lens across our sector thesis reports, from technology and AI to materials, to identify where women-led innovation is underrepresented and where targeted sourcing can unlock overlooked opportunities.
03
Firm - Level Representation
We built gender equity internally first, with 43% women on the PSV team, ensuring that the commitment starts at home before extending outward. Women are represented across seniority levels on our investment team, allowing for diversity and inclusion.
02
Portfolio - Level Integration
We moved beyond pipeline into real impact through our investments — our portfolio company Chlorohemp's supply chain engages 85% rural women farmers, and Hydrogen Mem-Tech is woman-led with a female CEO.
04
For 12 months, we mentored Jinali and the Banofi Leather team on strategy, GTM, and fundraising readiness, while facilitating key industry introductions and sales connections for their European expansion. Banofi made strong progress under the mentorship including securing pilots with Canada Goose and Anita Dongre, achieving 99%+ bio-based certification, and gaining recognition in Vogue's Global 100 Sustainability Innovators.
TESTIMONIAL
"Coming from an R&D background, I needed help transitioning from technical founder to strategic business leader. The mentorship from Peak Sustainability Ventures, particularly Aakash Shah, Aadil Chitalwala, and Ahana Advani, was instrumental in that shift.
They pushed me to step back from day-to-day operations and view decisions through a broader strategic lens. Their guidance on financial planning, cash flow management, and capital efficiency gave me clarity on areas that were entirely new to me. But perhaps most importantly, consistent, honest conversations with mentors who understand both the technical and commercial realities of climate innovation strengthened my confidence as a founder.
The programme helped me evolve from being R&D-focused to thinking and acting like a strategic business leader. It's left a lasting impact on how we build and grow Banofi." - Jinali Mody, Founder, Banofi Leather
LOOKING FORWARD
What We are Implementing Now
Structured Women - Founder
Cohorts
Moving from ad hoc sourcing to a more formalised approach, partnering with accelerators and ecosystem players to build a repeatable pipeline of women-led climate ventures with mentorship opportunities.
Structured Mentorship Programme
Providing targeted mentorship, ecosystem introductions and visibility at a stage where strategic support can unlock the next level of growth. Ongoing touchpoints focused on growth strategy, team building, and investor readiness.
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We’re actively looking to collaborate with founders, investors, and ecosystem partners building in the climate sector.
If you are building in this space, and looking to drive systems change in India, we’d welcome a conversation.
Reach out to one of the Peak team members, or at team@peakventures.in to discuss a collaboration.
Apply for Our Women Founder Mentorship Programme
We believe gender equity is fundamental to building a stronger climate ecosystem, and we are committed to backing women founders solving critical challenges across climate, agriculture, water, and energy. If you are a woman building in climate or know someone who is, we encourage you to apply to our Women Founder Mentorship Programme.