Coaching Programme

Nature-Positive Investment: a pitch and coaching opportunity for start-ups

London, Middlesex University Business School | 16 Jan 2025

Closing date for applications: 13 December 2024.

After its first Nature-Positive Accelerator this year, the SME Nature Positive Finance team is looking to recruit a new cohort of SME start-ups that can benefit from a FREE 16-week coaching programme to help attract investment in early-stage business solutions, building confidence to pitch their ideas in front of investors who want to make a positive impact with their money.

The programme will support the 2025 cohort to expand their business horizons and respond to the ever growing demand for nature-positive business models with genuine green or ecological credentials. This is particularly timely since investors are themselves facing increased regulatory demands to demonstrate the nature interdependencies and impacts through their investments, such as through the Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) and the UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS).

16-week Coaching Programme

The SME Nature Positive Finance team, together with practice partners, are recruiting SME start-ups for a free 16-week coaching programme to help attract investment in nature-positive business solutions and boost investor confidence in sustainable impact.

The full programme can be accessed here.

This exciting opportunity comprises 12 sessions and includes coaching on:

• Innovation and nature-positivity
• What investors want to see
• Financials and business planning
• Tax breaks for investors
• Pitch deck structure
• Deal Legals
• Innovation and IP basics and deep dive
• Finding investors
• Nature positive toolkit – be the first to test this exciting green assessment tool

When

The 16-week programme will kick off on the 16th January 2025 at the Middlesex University Campus, Hendon and culminate with the pitching event on the 15th May 2025 in London.

Who can apply?

Start-ups and innovative UK SMEs seeking investment are invited to pitch their propositions at the event. Before the event, pitching businesses will be able to share their ideas, constraints, and opportunities to access funding for nature-positive business ideas in online workshops. Take a moment to review our eligibility criteria to determine whether this event aligns with your interests and qualifications. All applications will be assessed based on these criteria and you will need to confirm you agree to them when you sign up.

This accelerator will bring these SMEs, investors and important business supporters and universities together, supported by Middlesex University’s Centre for Enterprise, Environment and Development Research (CEEDR), its GreenFin research cluster and the CUSP network. It will also work closely with the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) flagship Integrating Finance and Biodiversity (IFB) programme. Successful companies will benefit from investor-readiness coaching and networking opportunities from several prominent experts who will be working alongside Raising Expert and GreenFin who supported the 2024 cohort accelerator.

Interested in being part of our 2025 Nature-Positive SME Accelerator?

What are the key outcomes at the end of the programme?

Coaching and support for businesses:

• Uncover your why, your value and core contribution.
• Selected companies will benefit from pitching to a specialist audience. They will be provided with a tried and tested coaching programme, building on from the 2024 programme.

Practical use of GreenFin/MDX FinBio research:

• Access to the exciting FinBio toolkit for SMEs and investors which seeks to catalyse and operationalise entrepreneurial green or ecological credentials which will be ready for testing to support SMEs and investors through the nature-positive journey.

Networking for investors and SMEs

• Investors and advisors can share their knowledge and connections.
• The pitching event will link SMEs with suitable FinBio investors across the UK, including angel investors, angel investment groups and VCs.
• Linking more solutions to corporate investor needs.

Accelerating what works by working with leading research and practitioners

• Creating a sharing network for what works best in accelerator good practice.
• Drawing on the specialisms (e.g. sectors/verticals) of different universities.
• Bringing that best practice to a wider range of ventures across the UK.
• Enabling tech stacking and scale up solutions to flourish.

Useful Links

• Full programme and partner details
• Eligibility Criteria
• Application Form

Background

Who is funding this event?

The programme is part of the SME Nature Positive Finance project led by Middlesex University and funded by the Natural Environment Research Council’s Integrated Finance and Biodiversity programme. This project highlights key UK sectors where SMEs are at the forefront of innovative solutions to measure and assess nature-positive business activities.

Please see the criteria and terms of agreement. Sign up using the application form.

For further inquiries, please contact us.

Who attended the 2024 cohort?

In 2024, the research team led an accelerator to encourage early-stage nature-positive investment in SMEs, running coaching sessions in May and culminating in a pitch event to investors in June.  In total, six companies pitched which has involved interest from financiers and provided valuable lessons for the research team and the SME cohort to take forward.  

The event is part of the SME Nature Positive Finance project led by Middlesex University and funded by the Natural Environment Research Council’s Integrated Finance and Biodiversity programme. This project highlights key UK sectors where SMEs are at the forefront of innovative solutions to measure and assess nature-positive business activities. 

Please see the criteria and terms of agreement, and contact us for further details.

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