REPYY Repsol SA (QX)

By Dieter Holger

Spanish energy company Repsol SA (REP.MC) has established a 50 million-euro ($56.5 million) social-impact fund investing in green startups that help vulnerable people in Spain.

The fund will make its first EUR5 million investment in social startups by the end of the year and plans to help support at least a dozen profitable companies by 2025, Repsol said Wednesday.

The company estimates that the projects could generate a combined revenue of EUR20 million and employ around 1,800 people at risk of social exclusion in Spain, such as female victims of gender violence, refugees, people with disabilities and recovering addicts.

Repsol said the fund will focus on climate change, green transport, the circular economy, energy efficiency and ecological products and services for rural communities.

The company aims for the startups to be financially self-sustainable over time and capable of reinvesting the profits they earn. As part of the project, Repsol is partnering with Spanish social investment organizations Ship2B and Open Value Foundations to plan out the growth of the startups.

Repsol didn't disclose the names of the startups it planned to invest in.

Write to Dieter Holger at dieter.holger@dowjones.com; @dieterholger

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 03, 2019 09:39 ET (13:39 GMT)

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