ImpactAlpha’s deal news coverage for the week:
Agrifood investing. Australia-based Queensland Investment Corp. and Wollemi Capital invested A$80 million (US$56.5 million) in fresh foods grower Kalfresh as the first commitment in a planned circular food and energy “precinct” in Queensland… Resurrect Bio landed $8.1 million to resurrect crops’ natural immunity.
Climate finance. Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation invested in Houston-based Mati Carbon, which develops long-duration carbon removal projects in partnership with farmers in India and Africa… Sustainable aviation fuel producer LanzaJet raised $47 million in grant and equity capital, with backing from Shell, International Airlines Group and the UK Department for Transport’s Advanced Fuels Fund… The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan will double “climate transition aligned” private investments to $70 billion by 2030. The pension said the clean energy shift represents “a generational investment opportunity that stands to reshape economies.”
Fund news. Acre Impact Capital’s export finance fund got a boost from Swiss DFI… Development Partners International reached a first close on its fourth Africa fund.
Good jobs. Houston-based FYLD secured $41 million in Series B funding, backed by Energy Impact Partners and Partech’s growth impact fund, for software for worker safety and productivity in infrastructure field work.
Green infrastructure. AP7, an ESG-focused private investment group within Sweden’s pension fund management system, launched a “social real estate” strategy with an investment in nine properties whose tenants are all public agencies and services providers… Energea, a Connecticut-based sustainable infrastructure investor, provided a $100 million secured credit facility to Colombia-based Helios Energía to provide off-grid solar to rural and Indigenous communities (see, “Solar projects in Africa and Latin America pay dividends to US retail investors”)… Phoenix Tailings, a green mining and metals company in Massachusetts, raised $40.2 million in Series B extension financing for a new facility in New Hampshire.
Impact management. Africa-focused private equity firm Adenia Partners and French development bank Proparco are exiting their stake in OCS Groupe, a facility cleaning and maintenance services firm that operates in Senegal and Morocco. Adenia says it has helped the company add 500 new jobs and improve its environmental, social and governance practices since it invested in 2021.
Inclusive finance. Ascent secured $45 million to expand outcomes-based student lending… Chicago-based Community Investment Corp. secured a $10 million loan from JPMorganChase to capitalize local affordable housing developers… French development finance institution Proparco provided Nigerian bank Wema with a nine billion naira ($6 million) portfolio guarantee to ramp up its small business lending… Quash secured $2.6 million to bring artificial intelligence to credit unions.
Investing in health. Coral Care snagged $13 million to expand in-home pediatric developmental therapy.
Nature-based financing. Development finance institutions backed Hummingbirds to design community-driven nature projects… L&G committed up to $1 billion for debt-for-nature swaps in emerging markets… London-based carbon projects developer Rainforest Builder signed an offtake agreement with Microsoft to generate 1.8 million credits over 15 years from an ecosystem restoration project in Sierra Leone.
Returns on inclusion. Ariel Investments, a Black woman-led investment firm, raised $250 million for Project Level, an investment fund “built to capitalize on a generational shift in women’s sports and raise it to its rightful place in the major leagues… Black woman-led Runway Roots deployed almost $1 million to six Black-owned businesses in Chicago, including Homegirl’s Hummus, Twisted Eggroll, Kesh Events and Stories of All Hemp… Good Return secured backing to lend to women-owned businesses in Asia.
Waste management. Acumen and Orios Venture Partners led a $2.5 million equity round for ScrapUncle, a Delhi-based startup that offers “on demand” electronic and scrap waste recycling services… Collateral Good’s Textile and Fashion Innovation Fund, which invests in circular materials, recycling and sustainable manufacturing, led a €3.5 million ($4.1 million) round for Climatex, a Swiss textile company creating reusable and biodegradable fabrics.
