Greetings Agents of Impact!
This weekend’s screenings. ImpactAlpha’s mini-documentary “Equity & ownership: Napoleon Wallace and the Reconstruction of Black wealth” will be screened at the So Reel Film Festival, at The Roof Top in Emeryville, Calif., this Saturday, Aug. 23 at 12pm local time. Use discount code “ImpactAlpha”. The film will also be shown at the Freedom Festival International in Columbia, SC, on Sunday, Aug. 24 at 12:30pm local time.
In today’s Brief:
- Innovative financing for Brazil’s smallholder farmers
- Big raise for battery materials maker Group14
- Making placed-based funding responsive to community needs
Featured: Innovative Finance
Grupo Gaia is bringing a Big Ag financing tool to Brazil’s smallholder farmers. Last month, São Paulo-based Grupo Gaia helped a cooperative of smallholder dairy farmers in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina raise more than $2 million to invest in their operations. Traditional bank financing for small farmers is both expensive and hard to secure, but Grupo Gaia used a traditional financing tool to get the deal done. Agribusiness receivables certificates, or CRAs – a type of asset-backed debt – have historically been used by Brazil’s industrial agriculture sector. About 40 billion reais ($7.3 billion) is transacted through CRAs in Brazil each year, mostly for large soy and cattle operations. Gaia is tapping the tool to support the country’s smallholder farmers and rural communities. The impact investment firm has closed nine deals worth more than 87 million reais for smallholder farmers and land regeneration stewards, reports ImpactAlpha contributor Gilberto Lima. “We are able to reach more people and finance those who really have difficulty accessing capital,” says Grupo Gaia’s Rodrigo Ferreira.
- Sustainable CRAs. CRAs bundle enterprises’ expected future payments, or “receivables,” into a security that can be sold to investors in exchange for upfront cash. This week, UK-based Sustainable Investment Management raised $60 million through a sustainable CRA issuance to support soy farmers committed to zero deforestation. Grupo Gaia’s deals have supported dairy, cocoa and rice farmers. It also floated a 21.5 million-real CRA to help agroforestry company Belterra replant degraded land. The deal was structured so that 40% of the proceeds went to more than two dozen cooperatives and community organizations working in target areas of the Amazon (see, “In Brazil, local impact opportunities emerge from global uncertainty“). All of Gaia’s CRA issuances are performing with default rates “close to zero,” Ferreira says.
- Retail interest. Gaia’s CRA issuance for the Santa Catarina dairy farmers was backed by more than 1,000 retail investors. Gaia, a B Corp, has raised more than 20 billion reais ($4 billion) in CRAs and real estate-backed securities since it launched in 2009. The firm has seen a surge of retail interest for its impact CRA deals, says Ferreira, largely because of their attractive rates of return. Institutional investors remain largely on the sidelines. Even though the instrument is familiar, the smallholders funded by Gaia’s impact CRAs are deemed high-risk by most commercial investors, Ferreira explains. The retail investor interest offers promise for plugging capital gaps for high-need agriculture initiatives, but more institutional capital will be needed for such projects to scale. Like most champions of innovative finance tools, Ferreira hopes to see “more patient capital, or more capital willing to take more risk.”
- Keep reading, “Grupo Gaia is bringing a Big Ag financing tool to Brazil’s smallholder farmers,” by Gilberto Lima.
Dealflow: Energy Transition
Group14 hauls in $436 million for more powerful batteries. The Series D raise for battery material maker Group14 will scale production of a silicon-based material that boosts the performance of batteries in everything from electric vehicles to iPhones. South Korea’s SK Inc. led the deal, alongside Decarbonization Partners, Lightrock Climate Impact Fund, Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund and the Canadian pension fund OMERS. Corporate investors Porsche Investments and ATL also joined the round. The fundraise pushes the Washington-based company’s total equity funding to $1 billion. Group14 was also selected last year for a $200 million Department of Energy grant. “We’re continuing to move forward through government channels,” a Group14 spokesperson told ImpactAlpha.
- Manufacturing scale. Group14’s “battery active material,” called SCC55, is designed to replace graphite in batteries and boost energy density – a key driver of performance – by up to 50%. Group14 manufactures SCC55 at two factories in Washington state as well as in South Korea. As part of the deal, Group14 acquired full ownership of the South Korean plant from joint-venture partner SK. “The future of high-performance energy storage, powered by our silicon battery material, is already here,” said Group14’s Rick Luebbe. “We’re strengthening regional battery supply chains and safeguarding our customers from global trade uncertainty.”
Dealflow overflow. Investment news crossing our desks:
- Closed Loop Private Equity acquired Agri-Cycle, a Portland, Maine-based company that collects organic waste and composts or upcycles it. (Closed Loop Partners)
- Illinois-based Therm Solutions raised $3.6 million in a Series A equity round to generate carbon credits through projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions from refrigerants. (Therm Solutions)
- Beneficial Returns approved a $250,000 impact-linked loan to cover cash flow needs for Multi Rempah Sulawesi. The company helps Indonesia’s spice farmers sell their products at better prices and get paid faster. (Beneficial Returns)
- Australia-based Carbon280 raised A$16.6 million (US$10.8 million) in a mix of debt and equity to build a facility in western Australia to store and transport hydrogen fuel. The equity backers include Woodside Energy, Hive Energy and an unnamed Singaporean family office. (Tech in Asia)
- PeelOn, a biotech startup with a presence in India and the US, raised $1 million from GrowX Ventures, Boston Venture Group, Clean Energy Venture Group and Climate Angels for its biodegradable packaging film that helps preserve fresh foods. (Economic Times)
- Germany’s Prime Capital secured €30 million ($35 million) from the European Investment Fund for its Sustainable Infrastructure Debt Fund. The commitment brings Prime Capital’s raise to €130 million. (Prime Capital)
Impact Voices: Advisors’ Corner
Think globally, invest locally. For asset holders interested in taking on big global challenges, often the best place to start is locally. That can be a tough ask of asset managers, wealth advisors and grant makers. Local investments “don’t fit neatly into model portfolios or product platforms, and often require a level of customization that’s difficult to achieve,” explains CapShift’s Jess Simmons in the latest “deep dive” on ImpactAlpha’s Advisors’ Corner. Yet, “for many clients, it’s where values and capital converge most tangibly.” Simmons shares four principles for wealth advisors developing place-based investment strategies for clients, building on CapShift’s work with a Midwestern community foundation interested in mission-related investments in its home region. Among the recommendations: Clearly define boundaries of place and purpose by clarifying what “local” means. Engage local partners and community-based organizations to source lesser-known but high impact investment opportunities. And design for diversification across asset classes and liquidity profiles to balance risk and return. Place-based investing offers an opportunity to deliver on clients’ priorities, says Simmons, and “distinguish your practice in a space where few are equipped to lead.”
- Participatory climate grants. Very little climate funding happens at the local level. In New York, Michigan and Los Angeles, the nonprofit CIV:LAB is piloting a place-based grantmaking strategy that puts unrestricted capital, and decision-making, in community hands. In two years of grantmaking, CIV:LAB funded a diverse range of projects focused on community-driven climate mitigation and adaptation. Grantees have focused on hyperlocal air quality monitoring, advocacy for frontline neighborhoods, and green workforce development. “These programs – grounded in community empowerment and literacy – are runways for larger-scale climate outcomes, such as climate policy advocacy, a growing climate workforce, and improved governance through community involvement,” writes CIV:LAB’s Vijayta Narang. Read the full piece.
- Keep reading, “When place becomes the priority — how to meet clients where they are,” by CapShift’s Jess Simmons. Explore Advisors’ Corner. Have useful resources to add? Shoot us a note.
Agents of Impact: Follow the Talent
Evan Kaufman, previously with KKR, joins TPG Rise Climate as a principal… Nora Gilhooly, former director of investment banking at B. Riley Securities, joins SES ESOP Strategies as a managing director… Impact Capital Managers is hiring a program director for the Turner MIINT (see, “ICM takes the helm of Turner MIINT to support next-gen impact investors”)… Boston Impact Initiative seeks a managing director for its Impact Capital Lab.
The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta is hiring an affordable housing investment director and an impact investment analyst… The GIIN is on the hunt for a lead editor and writer for its communications and marketing team… The Colorado Health Foundation is searching for a senior impact investing officer in Denver… GenZero is recruiting a vice president of investments in Singapore… Climate Impact Partners has an opening for a head of carbon project delivery in London… Vivriti Capital is looking for a sustainability specialist in Mumbai.
The Blended Finance Accelerator for Fund Managers will accept concept notes for its first call for proposals until Monday, Oct. 13. There’s a virtual info session on the program on Thursday, Sept. 4… The NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business will host, “Transforming sustainability risk into financial return: A deep-dive for ESG controllers,” during NYC Climate Week on Monday, Sept. 22.
👉 View (or post) impact investing jobs on ImpactAlpha’s Career Hub.
Thank you for your impact!
– Aug. 21, 2025
