Working Capital Reaches final close of $25.5 million

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Working Capital, an early stage venture fund that invests in innovative solutions to create ethical supply chains, raised an additional $2.5 million from the Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) and Zalando, increasing the Fund's total capital to $25.5 million. The first-of-its-kind fund, Working Capital also counts the support of Walmart Foundation, C&A Foundation, Stardust Equity, Open Society Foundations (Soros Economic Development Fund), The Ray and Dagmar Dolby Family Fund, and The Walt Disney Company. The Fund is also leveraging support from the UK's Department of International Development in "Sidecar" grant funding for pre-investment and seed-stage interventions. Although the Fund's partners are diverse, they have come together with a common commitment to combat the systemic risk of labor abuse in supply chains. 

"As leaders in their respective industries, both CIFF and Zalando will bring a unique perspective and further strengthen Working Capital's partnership structure," said Ed Marcum, Working Capital managing director. "The support of each of our partners signals an increased understanding that capital must be allocated to help develop efforts to enable companies to perform well while also protecting vulnerable workers.

Established in 2002 and headquartered in London, CIFF is dedicated to transforming the lives of children and adolescents in developing countries. CIFF is joining the fund to further its commitment to solve problems, such as child labor, by enabling urgent transformational change.

CIFF CEO Kate Hampton said: "There is an urgent need to clean up opaque global supply chains that enable forced labour and human trafficking. Worldwide, 152 million children are victims of child labour, almost half of them working in hazardous conditions. CIFF is proud to partner with the Working Capital Fund innovative solutions for making supply chains more transparent, ethical and viable."

At the same time, Zalando, Europe's leading online fashion platform, joined the fund in alignment with its purpose to enable supply chain transparency and capacity building. 

"In line with our zIMPACT program we are supporting the fund. The Program offers visibility, funding, and expertise to industry players that use digital technology to increase supply chain transparency.  At Zalando, we believe tech can be a positive force in the industry and focus our engagement in areas where we can have a systemic impact," said Dennis Hoenig-Ohnsorg, Team Lead Corporate Responsibility at Zalando 

Since its launch earlier this year, Working Capital has invested in companies that leverage technology to bring visibility and accountability to supply chains and increased agency for workers. Portfolio companies include Provenance, a blockchain platform enabling traceability; Ulula, a software and data analytics platform to engage workers; and QuizRR, an EdTech company which offers training solutions to advance worker knowledge and corporate accountability. Working Capital Fund is exploring how emerging technologies such as machine learning, sensors and interconnected Internet of Things solutions can be brought to bear on supply chain labor rights risks.

About Working Capital
Working Capital is an early stage venture fund that invests in scalable innovations to meet the growing corporate demand for more transparent and ethical supply chains—addressing the urgent need to protect vulnerable workers and source responsibly. It was created by Humanity United, part of The Omidyar Group, a diverse collection of organizations, each guided by its own approach, but united by a common desire to catalyze social impact.

About CIFF
The Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) is an independent philanthropic organisation, headquartered in London with offices in Nairobi and New Delhi and a presence in Ethiopia. Established in 2002, CIFF works with a wide range of partners seeking to transform the lives of children and adolescents in developing countries. Areas of work include maternal and child health, adolescent sexual health, nutrition, education, deworming, tackling child slavery and exploitation, and supporting smart ways to slow down and stop climate change.

About Zalando
Zalando is Europe's leading online fashion and lifestyle platform for women, men and children. We offer our customers a one-stop, convenient shopping experience with an extensive selection of lifestyle articles including shoes, apparel, accessories and beauty products, with free delivery and returns. Our assortment of almost 2,000 international brands ranges from popular global brands, fast fashion and local brands, and is complemented by our private label products. Our localized offering addresses the distinct preferences of our customers in each of the 17 European markets we serve: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Poland, and the United Kingdom. Our logistics network with five centrally located fulfillment centers allows us to efficiently serve our customers throughout Europe, supported by warehouses in Northern Italy, France and Sweden with a focus on local customer needs. We believe that our integration of fashion, operations and online technology gives us the capability to deliver a compelling value proposition to both our customers and fashion brand partners.

CONTACT: [email protected], 650-207-3930

SOURCE Working Capital