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  • February 2020 (Revised March 2020)
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Prime Coalition: Catalytic Capital for Climate Innovation

By: Ramana Nanda, Benjamin N. Roth and Olivia Hull
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:29
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Abstract

With long development timelines and high risk, new energy technologies were often left to languish in the “valley of death,” unable to raise enough funds to bring a product to market. In 2014, Sarah Kearney founded the nonprofit Prime Coalition to solve this problem. At the beginning, Prime’s role as a financial intermediary involved seeking out the most promising market-based technology solutions to climate change and recruiting foundations or philanthropists to fund them. In 2019, Prime changed course, adopting a portfolio approach with its Prime Impact Fund. By the end of the year, Prime had raised $40 million in philanthropic capital for its new fund. Once the funds were invested in promising energy startups, Prime planned to try its hand at recruiting traditional investors to back the same companies. Could Kearney convince traditional investors that these investments were worth the risks?

Keywords

Energy Conservation; Renewable Energy; Social Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Investment; Innovation and Invention; Technological Innovation; Mission and Purpose; Science-Based Business; Nonprofit Organizations; Social Enterprise; Energy Industry; Technology Industry; Green Technology Industry; United States

Citation

Nanda, Ramana, Benjamin N. Roth, and Olivia Hull. "Prime Coalition: Catalytic Capital for Climate Innovation." Harvard Business School Case 820-007, February 2020. (Revised March 2020.)
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About The Authors

Ramana Nanda

Entrepreneurial Management
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Benjamin N. Roth

Entrepreneurial Management
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Related Work

    • February 2020 (Revised March 2020)
    • Faculty Research

    Prime Coalition: Catalytic Capital for Climate Innovation

    By: Ramana Nanda, Benjamin N. Roth and Olivia Hull
    • September 2021 (Revised March 2022)
    • Faculty Research

    Prime Coalition: Catalytic Capital for Climate Innovation

    By: Benjamin Roth
Related Work
  • Prime Coalition: Catalytic Capital for Climate Innovation By: Ramana Nanda, Benjamin N. Roth and Olivia Hull
  • Prime Coalition: Catalytic Capital for Climate Innovation By: Benjamin Roth
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