We’re catching up on a busy few weeks in impact investing. Many of the funds and investors ImpactAlpha has been tracking are accelerating their dealmaking. Enjoy a full helping of Dealflow — and remember to send your own deals to [email protected].
Smallholder farmer finance in Indonesia. Mercy Corps’ Social Venture Fund completed its second investment in the Indonesian company PT Vasham Kosa Sejahtera. Unitus Impact Fund led the $2.5 million Series A round. Vasham provides Indonesian smallholder farmers with the financing, expertise, and income security they need to achieve significantly better standards of living (see “Unitus Impact Fund Makes Better Livelihoods for Global Poor an Investable Proposition”).
Farming in Zambia. AgDevCo, a social impact agribusiness investor, announced a $1.1 million debt investment into a Zambian feedlot. Ilobezi offers a better price to smallholders for higher quality cattle, thereby rewarding best practices. AgDevCo funding will be used to purchase sunflower seed and cattle as well as expansion of oil processing, storage and farming and irrigation equipment to grow maize silage (see “Lowered Risks Means Higher Returns for Agriculture Investors in Frontier Markets”).
Aquaculture. Finance in Motion, a German Impact Firm with EUR 1.6 billion ($1.82 billion) in assets, has purchased an equity stake an equity stake in Aqua-Spark, a Dutch sustainable aquaculture fund. Terms of the stake were not disclosed (see “Impact Fund Invests in Aquaculture to Preserve Oceans”).
Media in Myanmar. The Media Development Investment Fund is rolling out a $2.4 million capacity building program for media in Myanmar. The Myanmar Media Program (MMP), funded by Sweden selected 11 media organizations for help in establish financially sustainable quality news businesses (see “Media Development Investment Fund: Banking on a Free Press”).
Conservation finance. The Nature Conservancy, in collaboration with JPMorgan Chase, announces a renewal for the Conservancy’s NatureVest program. NatureVest, the Conservancy’s impact investment unit, was established in 2014 with founding support and ongoing guidance from JPMorgan Chase. Since its founding, NatureVest has completed nearly $200 million in transactions across each of its five business lines: water markets, green infrastructure for stormwater management in cities, working landscapes, debt swaps for climate adaptation and sustainable agriculture (see “Show Me the Deals: Impact Investors Look for Opportunities in Conservation Finance”).
And more conservation. Nonprofit lender Craft3 closed on a deal with Community -based Wild Rivers Land Trust to protect 160 timberland acres in The Elk River watershed in Oregon. Portland-based Meyer Memorial Trust provided bridge capital. The deal will help improve steelhead trout and coho salmon populations
Edtech. Online education platform Skillshare Inc. raised $12 million in a series B round. Amasia and Omidyar Network co-led the investment in Skillshare joined by existing investors Union Square Ventures and Spark Capital.
Higher education in Morocco. Actis has invested in Mundiapolis University (Mundiapolis), a top ranking private university in Morocco. Mundiapolis was founded 20 years ago. It began as three institutes offering degrees in Business, Law and Engineering, and has since merged into a leading Moroccan university with some of the highest academic credentials in the region. Actis has invested close to US$400 million in recent years in the education sector, in institutions including China PSE and EIC Group in China; and Universidade Cruzeiro do Sul and CNA in Brazil.
Women entrepreneurs. FMO has committed to become a strategic partner and invest $30 million in the Women Entrepreneurs Debt Fund, managed by IFC Asset Management Company. The fund is part of the overall Women Entrepreneurs Opportunity Facility that was launched in March 2014 by IFC and Goldman Sachs Foundation.
Healthcare in India. Bengaluru-based AddressHealth, a primary healthcare network for children, has raised $1.5 million in Series A funding led by Gray Matters Capital with participation from existing investor, Unitus Seed Fund.
Clean power in India. The World Bank Board has approved a $625 million loan to support the Government of India’s program to generate clean electricity through a network of roof-mounted solar panels. The loan will back the installation of enough grid-connected panels to generate 40 MW of electricity, through providing funds to developers looking to invest in commercial and industrial rooftop systems through the State Bank of India.
And finally…
World positive investing. Twitter Founder Ev Williams’ Obvious Venture closed a $123,456,789 fund. Obvious Ventures looks for companies that offer “positive social and environmental benefits with every dollar of revenue they earn.”
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DealFlow is ImpactAlpha’s weekly roundup of what, where, how and why impact capital flowed each week… See more impact deals in ImpactAlpha’s DealFlow section. And send your deal news to [email protected].
