Global climate career platform Terra.do raises $5 million funding in seed round

Terra.do, a global climate career platform, has announced the closure of a $5 million seed investment round on Monday. The round was led by Avaana Capital, a $150 million climate-focused fund, and it also saw participation from SIG, the TELUS Pollinator Fund for Good, Precursor, BEENEXT, City Light, Hummingbird Firm, and Avesta. 

The round supplemented traditional VC funding with participation from 150+ businesses and people from a dozen countries, in keeping with the company's community-focused attitude. These included community-driven syndicates such as MCJ Collective, E8 Angels, C3, and Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs as well as renowned personalities such as Albert Wenger (founder, Union Square Ventures), and David Helgason (founder, Unity), among many others.

More than 50 Terra.do alumni also contributed to the round, ranging from farmers who manage the Terra.do Climate Farm School to former oil and gas executives transitioning to renewable energy and activist shareholders, the company said in a statement.

The company hopes to provide unique, insider access to climate specialists and hiring managers at leading climate tech companies with the introduction of its official app on the Apple App Store and Google Play store, allowing direct contacts between climate employers and potential talent.

In its press release, the company cited a 2021 Gartner study that found that over 56 per cent of American employees desired to offer more to society after the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, according to the PwC State of Climate Tech 2021 study, climate tech now accounts for 14 cents of every venture capital dollar, implying that skill shortages are unavoidable. It is this problem that Terra.do aims to tackle.

The company claimed that it has already brought together over 10,000 professionals with over 100 climate tech companies through its job fairs. The firm is also set to host its next virtual job fair on the 29th of June in collaboration with My Climate Journey (MCJ) Collective, a well-known climate fund and community. Terra.do is also reportedly looking to expand its educational activities after completing climate-related learning programmes with thousands of mid-career professionals from more than 25 countries.

Anshuman Bapna, the co-founder and CEO at Terra.do commented on the development, saying “We are on the precipice of real change—both the industry and talent have woken up to the impacts of the crisis and the hard work that is required. Opportunities abound in every corner of the world and within every aspect of society. Terra.do’s mission is now more relevant than ever; with funding closed and a new app launched, we are ready to run at warp speed to contribute to solving this crisis.”

Anjali Bansal, founder and Chairperson of Avaana Capital, also spoke on the achievement, saying, “At Avaana, we believe that climate and sustainability are the next digital. The climate crisis will require every aspect of our economy to transform and incorporate sustainability, resulting in the emergence of the climate economy.” 

“Terra.do’s exciting new app and unique integrated approach, combining learning and jobs and empowered by a strongly engaged community, will enable better outcomes and help each one of us become a climate worker,” she added

 

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