Women-led growth equity firm TGC Impact has launched the TGC Impact Growth fund which aims to provide investors with access to underrepresented markets “with operational value creation in growing businesses”.

The firm’s inaugural fund will provide access capital to women and minority-owned or operated businesses located in the “New American South”, a region spanning 16 states including Maryland and Texas.

According to the TGC Impact, its “impact-focused” approach also enables it to contribute to economic and job growth which, in turn, “bolsters” communities.

Emily Halpern, co-founder and partner of TGC Impact, said: "There is a huge disparity of capital and funding available to women and minority-owned businesses in the areas we are targeting.

“We are looking to provide great companies with not only capital but also an ecosystem of industry experts to help them scale and reach the next level of growth."

The fund will invest in companies in sectors including infrastructure, transportation and logistics, energy transition, manufacturing and distribution, and business services.

This will involve targeting companies with less than $6 million in EBITDA and with annual revenues of $2 million minimum. Fundraising for the fund is ongoing.

Tamika Tyson, co-founder and partner of TGC Impact, added: “We provide more than just non-control capital; we seek to provide transformational capital.

“Capital that transforms, including relationship capital, human capital, and social capital, coupled with access to networks offering industry and procurement expertise.”

Earlier this year, global venture capital firm Energy Impact Partners (EIP) was handed a $35 million investment from Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) to help “accelerate the transition to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions”.

In January, New York-based private equity firm Lightsmith Group announced it had raised $186 million for a fund investing in technology that protects against climate events such as droughts, storms and floods.