Berlin Climate-Tech Startup eco.mio Secures Seven-Figure Seed Funding to Promote Sustainable Business Travel

Berlin, June 18th 2024

The startup eco.mio, founded by Katharina Riederer, Mario Blatter, and Sarah Benarey, has successfully completed a low seven-figure seed funding round. The goal is to expand beyond Germany and diversify its product offerings. The financing is led by IBB Ventures, identity.vc, and the Hans(wo)men Group, with support from N&V Capital, Partners in Clime, Robert Jacobi, Alfred Luger, Volker Rofalski, Patrick Diemer, Lea-Sophie Cramer, and Nicole Büttner.

Katharina Riederer, Co-Founder and CEO, comments: "This funding allows us to scale our solutions to become a European leader and significantly expand our product range. With the support of our investors, we will significantly accelerate our vision of making sustainability a core element of every business trip."

Forward-Looking Approach for More Sustainable Business Travel

eco.mio is leading the transformation of the business travel world with a forward-looking approach. By integrating modern technologies and sustainability strategies into traditional booking systems of large corporations, such as Cytric and SAP Concur, the startup has expanded its user base to 40,000 and already reduced its clients' CO₂ emissions by 26%.

The urgency of immediate action is underscored by the EU regulations (CSRD) coming into effect next year, which require the disclosure of CO₂ footprints, reduction targets, and transition plans. eco.mio offers a critical solution to meet these new requirements, as traditional methods like mere compensation payments are insufficient to achieve the science-based targets. Moreover, companies are increasingly focusing on business travel in their CO₂ reduction strategies, as it is not only frequently visible to most employees and shapes corporate culture, but also expected to generate significant positive ripple effects.

Cindy Beckel from IBB Ventures says: "The strong founding team of eco.mio impressively combines sustainability with economic viability, making it a valuable addition to our Impact Fund. We are firmly convinced of their potential and look forward to supporting eco.mio on their path to success."

Til Klein from identity.vc adds: "The ability to integrate directly into the existing systems of business customers makes eco.mio's solution extremely valuable. This is a crucial factor for our investment decision."

Strategic Product Diversification and Expansion also Outside of Germany

The fresh capital will be specifically used to expand eco.mio's international presence. In addition, new applications for hotels and rental cars will be introduced, as well as advanced solutions in the area of sustainability governance covering internal CO₂ taxation and budgets.

Strong Industry Partnerships and Customer Success

eco.mio has built significant partnerships with some of the industry's biggest providers, including Cytric by Amadeus, Lufthansa City Center, Advito (BCD Travel), and Deutsche Bahn. These partnerships not only strengthen eco.mio's market position but also help the company implement its solutions through interfaces on a broad scale. Reference customers already benefiting from the eco.mio platform include companies such as Roland Berger and Kearney. eco.mio was on top awarded the prestigious Business Travel Sustainability Award in 2023.

Hansi Hansmann, Hans(wo)men Group, underscores: "As an investor, I look for teams that not only have a groundbreaking idea but also the ability and passion to implement it. eco.mio has shown both, and I am proud to support their vision."

About eco.mio: Founded in 2021 in Berlin, eco.mio aims to drastically reduce CO₂ emissions through business travel. By combining technology and behavioral changes, the platform enables companies to make more sustainable decisions and actively pursue their climate goals.

About IBB Ventures: IBB Ventures has been providing venture capital to innovative Berlin-based companies since 1997 and has established itself as the market leader in early-stage financing. The funds are primarily used for development and market launch of innovative products or services as well as for business concepts from creative industries. In addition to the two VC funds for technology and creative companies with a volume of EUR 90 million, an impact VC fund with a volume of EUR 30 million has been in the investment phase since 2022. All VC funds are financed by the Investitionsbank Berlin (IBB) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), managed by the State of Berlin. IBB Ventures has already invested in more than 260 creative and technology companies in Berlin; in syndicates with partners, the start-ups received approx. EUR 1.8 billion, of which IBB Ventures has invested EUR 275 million as lead, co-lead or co-investor. IBB Ventures is the parent brand for the VC activities of IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft.

About identity.vc: identity.vc is Europe's first venture capital impact fund backing LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs. The €50 million impact fund (Art. 9 SFDR) invests in startups with LGBTQ+ representation in the leadership team, targeting early-stage companies across all sectors from pre-seed to Series A in Europe and beyond. identity.vc was founded by Til Klein (Zurich), a former BCG partner and FinTech founder, together with Jochen Beutgen (Berlin), a family office investor with a 20-year track record in venture capital. Mari Luukkainen (Helsinki) joined as a Principal, adding experience as an ex-growth operator and an investor at Icebreaker.vc.

About Hans(wo)men Group: The Hans(wo)men Group, founded by the Austrian super angel Hansi Hansmann, now includes a portfolio of over 50 startups from across Europe. Hansi Hansmann has been investing in startups for over 10 years and has already had several successful exits: Shpock, Runtastic, MySugr, Durchblicker, and Busuu.

Contact for Media Inquiries: Katharina Riederer, E-Mail: k@ecomio.com

High-Resolution Photo & Logo: See attached fact sheet.

Website: https://ecomio.com/