Strengthening our ability to finance supply chains for hydrogen and related technologies1

May 16, 2024. TOKYO, Japan

Aim to provide JPY 2 trillion in funding for production

Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. (President & Group CEO: Masahiro Kihara) aims to provide JPY 2 trillion in financing for the production and supply of hydrogen and related technologies by 2030. This goal reflects our understanding of the growth in these funding needs.

Hydrogen and related technologies have been identified as a key component for decarbonization across various sectors, including power generation, transportation, and industry, as countries around the world move toward achieving carbon neutrality.

Despite ongoing R&D and feasibility studies in Japan and other countries, hydrogen's widespread adoption is currently hindered by issues that include, aside from the need to generate demand and reduce costs through innovation, companies' ability to secure necessary funding.

As outlined in the Mizuho Sustainability Focus 2023 report, entitled "Sustainability: Path to industrial competitiveness", Mizuho identifies hydrogen as a key component for achieving widespread decarbonization across various sectors. Based on this perspective, we have pursued the following initiatives to promote its extensive use in society.

Mizuho's recent initiatives in hydrogen and related technologies

Initiatives	Examples
1) Involvement in formulating Japanese government strategy	Support in formulating roadmaps for use of electrolyzers and fuel cells (Mizuho Research & Technologies) Conducting research projects for the formulation of hydrogen safety strategies (Mizuho Research & Technologies)
2) Development and commercialization support for key technologies	Using digital simulation to support the development and design of fuel cells and electrolyzers (Mizuho Research & Technologies) Management support for industry-academia-government collaborative research and development projects (Mizuho Research & Technologies) Advisory service for investing risk capital into venture capital funds focused on startups in the hydrogen production equipment area (Mizuho Securities)
3) Research, analysis, and information dissemination for social implementation of hydrogen	Research on global policy, market, and technology trends in the hydrogen field (Mizuho Research & Technologies). Published reports entitled "How Japan Can Win the Global Competition for Hydrogen", "How Japan Can Establish a Presence in the Hydrogen Industry – Using Water Electrolyzers", and "The Potential of Turquoise Hydrogen" (Mizuho Bank)
4) Support for the construction of hydrogen and related technology supply chains	Support for feasibility studies on hydrogen production and power generation technologies (Mizuho Research & Technologies) Supported feasibility studies and demonstrations for bioenergy carbon capture and storage (BECCS) hydrogen-related projects Supported regional collaboration and demonstration projects for low-carbon hydrogen technology Announced a joint proposal on hydrogen and related technologies with the Development Bank of Japan (Mizuho Financial Group) Participation in the Hydrogen Council, a global initiative to promote hydrogen (Mizuho Bank) Hosting of the Australian Hydrogen Showcase, a hydrogen event dedicated to promoting cooperation between Japan, Australia, and Thailand in building an international hydrogen supply chain (Mizuho Bank) Engaged in local hydrogen-related councils in Japan (Mizuho Bank), including: Akita Prefecture Port Decarbonization Promotion Council Kawasaki Carbon Neutral Industrial Complex Formation Promotion Council and Kawasaki Carbon Neutral Port Formation Promotion Council Provided strategic and financial advisory services for a large-scale green hydrogen/ammonia production project in Africa (Mizuho Securities)
5) Strengthening financing ability	Arrangement of finance for a large-scale green hydrogen and ammonia production project outside Japan (Mizuho Bank) Granting transition loans for the green energy sector, including in the ammonia area (Mizuho Bank) Provided financial advisory services to international players in the production and supply of hydrogen and related technologies (Mizuho Bank) Issued green and transition bonds to finance the construction of a clean hydrogen supply chain (Mizuho Securities)

Given the growing urgency to set up supply chains for hydrogen and related technologies, which require substantial investment for production facilities, financial institutions have an essential role to play in providing funding. At Mizuho, we aim to offer JPY 2 trillion in financing for the production and supply of hydrogen and related technologies by 2030. By adopting this proactive approach, we will contribute to the development of the supply chains and accelerate hydrogen adoption in society.

To achieve this ambitious aim, we are focusing on three key areas: (1) Developing business strategies focused on hydrogen and related technologies, (2) Establishing a group-wide framework dedicated to supporting hydrogen and related technologies, and (3) Expanding our pool of personnel specialized in related areas. Going forward, we will further expand our initiatives to promote the construction of supply chains for hydrogen and related technologies.

1: "Hydrogen and related technologies" refers to areas including hydrogen, ammonia, and e-methane.

Source Link: https://www.mizuhogroup.com/news_release/20240516release_eng.html

RevFin to utilise $14 million Series B fundraise for geographical expansion, product diversification

January 23, 2024. NEW DELHI, India.

RevFin, a lender with a focus on electric vehicles, has successfully secured $14 million in its Series B funding round.

The company, led by Founder and CEO Sameer Aggarwal, has concentrated on financing electric three-wheelers and has expanded into two-wheelers and four-wheelers in recent months.

With a strong market presence in 23 states and dominance in five of them, RevFin plans to utilise the funds to extend its geographical reach across India.

Sameer Aggarwal in an interview to CNBC-TV18 stated that the funding will also support rapid scaling in existing markets, including diversification into new segments such as charging infrastructure and batteries.

Omidyar Network led the funding round with a substantial $5 million investment, accompanied by contributions from the Asian Development Bank, Companion Capital, and existing investors Green Frontiers Capital and LC Nueva.

Founded in 2018, RevFin achieved profitability in 2022 and aims to finance two million electric vehicles within the next five years.

This latest funding, marking Omidyar’s final investment in India, brings RevFin’s total capital raised through debt and equity to Rs 625 crore.

In a separate development, digital lending SaaS platform Biz2X has announced ambitious plans to disburse Rs 1,000 crore through its AI-ML backed platform Maadhyam in the current financial year.

Established in 2019 as a subsidiary of Biz2Credit, Biz2X, under the leadership of Co-Founder & CEO Rohit Arora, seeks to bridge the gap between lenders and SMEs.

Arora shared in an interview with CNBC-TV18 that the company’s strategy to provide credit access to digital aggregators, addressing challenges related to monetisation and growth.

Furthermore, Explorex, an experiential technology company supported by investors like Y-Combinator, Super Angels, FitBit, and Kevin Lin (COO of Twitch), claims to tackle long-standing challenges in inventory management, staff onboarding, and customer engagement for the restaurant ecosystem.

Co-Founder & CEO Mainak Sarkar envisions expansion to 30 cities this year, emphasising how Explorex aids restaurants in digitising their operations. For a comprehensive discussion, refer to the accompanying video.

Source Link: https://ventures.adb.org/revfin-to-utilise-14-million-series-b-fundraise-for-geographical-expansion-product-diversification/

Carta Partners with Sequoia to Offer a Total Compensation Solution for VC-Backed Companies

September 27, 2023. SAN FRANCISCO, California

Partnership brings together Carta’s market-leading salary and equity data with Sequoia’s Comp Advisory and Comp OS™.

Sequoia, the pioneer in benefits and compensation, announced its partnership with Carta, a leading provider of private market salary and equity data, to provide VC-backed companies the expert guidance and robust market data needed for designing and implementing smart compensation strategy for today’s fast moving talent market.

A well-informed compensation plan is foundational for attracting, motivating, and retaining top talent while managing burn rate responsibly. By adding Carta Total Compensation (CTC) data to Sequoia Comp OS, joint customers can build a comprehensive pay program for their modern workforce. With Sequoia’s Compensation Advisory practice, joint customers have the expert guidance needed to define a competitive, fair, and scalable compensation strategy.

Joint customers of Sequoia and Carta can expect:

1. Seamless data flow: Joint customers can access their equity information and CTC benchmarking data within the Sequoia People Platform, eliminating the need to switch between software providers when strategizing a compensation plan.

2. End-to-end tech-enabled service experiences: Joint customers receive hands-on guidance from Sequoia’s Comp Advisors, providing the resources needed to create a tailored compensation strategy and a trusted partner to operationalize a compensation philosophy through a tech-enabled services platform.

3. One source of truth: Sequoia’s Compensation Advisors can now leverage Carta’s comprehensive and real-time private company data to help VC-backed companies craft a compensation strategy that positions businesses for success, regardless of the economic landscape.
   

4. Flexible services for every company stage: From startups making their first hires to booming enterprises looking to create competitive total rewards packages, Sequoia offers expert guidance to create a compensation program that attracts, motivates, and retains key talent.

Sequoia is committed to helping businesses grow by providing strategic compensation support in areas such as total rewards philosophy, job architecture, cash structures, equity grant guidelines, annual incentive plan and executive compensation. Paired with Sequoia Comp OS™ on the Sequoia People Platform, companies are equipped with real-time visibility and heightened control over their organization’s global people spend that aligns to their goals.

Josh Steinfeld, Carta’s Principal Product Strategist, said, “Compensating your employees fairly while managing burn responsibly is crucial, and next to impossible without the right data and expertise. By partnering with Sequoia, our customers have access to the data and expertise they need to create a compensation strategy that controls costs and maximizes retention.”

Kyle Holm, Sequoia’s VP of Compensation Advisory, added, “Establishing a thoughtful total rewards strategy is the key to gaining a true people advantage. With this packaged solution, our team has the ability to provide strategic insights and bring the data to life, so we can help VC-backed companies, across any stage or economic conditions.”

Sequoia clients can receive streamlined access to demos and more information here.

To learn more about how Sequoia and Carta can help your business, start here.

About Sequoia

Sequoia is the leader in Total People Investment. We help companies create a people advantage through improving retention, attracting top talent, and increasing people-spend ROI. With expert advisory services across compensation and benefits and a powerful platform, we connect employee total comp programs with insightful people analytics so companies can manage their global people investment in real time to better meet the needs of their evolving workforce. Visit Sequoia.com or follow us on LinkedIn to learn more.

About Carta

Carta is a platform that helps people manage equity, build businesses, and invest in the companies of tomorrow. Our mission is to unlock the power of equity ownership for more people in more places. Carta manages nearly three trillion dollars in equity globally. The company is trusted by more than 40,000 companies, over 7,000 funds and SPVs, and over two billion equity holders to manage cap tables, compensation, valuations, liquidity, and more. For more information, visit carta.com.

Media Contact:

Michele Floriani Sequoia press@sequoia.com 650-544-4919

Source Link: https://www.sequoia.com/news/carta-partners-with-sequoia-to-offer-a-total-compensation-solution-for-vc-backed-companies/