OnGreen, a social media platform for green entrepreneurs looking for investors, today announced a $1.4 million first round of financing by China Southern Hong Kong Investment, a cleantech investment fund in Shanghai.

The company launched its OnGreen.com web site, in July, which has since been used by nearly 300 entrepreneurs in more than 35 countries. Startup hopefuls use the site to upload a business plan, and investors can contact entrepreneurs directly if they&'re interested in investing in the idea.

The company calls itself the &''LinkedIn&'' of cleantech investing. &''We don&'t just connect people with people, we connect ideas with money,&'' said CEO Nikhil Jain.

It&'s an interesting concept, particularly at this point in time. Cleantech investing has been on the decline, and early-stage cleantech funding has taken the biggest hit. The site says that, according to a survey of users, about half of the startups who used the site were contacted by angel or venture capital investors as a result. About 40 percent of users are outside of the U.S.

[Image via Flickr/lumaxart]

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Companies: China Southern Hong Kong Investment, OnGreen

People: Nikhil Jain

Companies: China Southern Hong Kong Investment, OnGreen

People: Nikhil Jain

Iris Kuo is the VentureBeat's lead GreenBeat writer. She has reported for The Wall Street Journal in Hong Kong, Houston Chronicle, the McClatchy Washington Bureau and Dallas public radio. Iris attended the University of Texas at Dallas and lives in Houston. Follow Iris on Twitter @thestatuskuo (and yes, that's how you pronounce her last name).

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