ImpactAlpha Latin America

ImpactAlpha Latin America: Slowing deforestation with “forever funds” for the tropics

ImpactAlpha · November 6, 2025

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In this month’s newsletter:

  • Steering bond proceeds to preserve tropical forests forever
  • Solar for supply chains in Mexico
  • Collective blueprints for impact

 ¡Empecemos! – Jessica Pothering

With Tropical Forests Forever fund, Brazil tries a new approach to slowing deforestation. The annual climate summit known as the Conference of the Parties is almost here. Every COP host puts its stamp on the proceedings. As the host of COP30, which will sprawl across Belém, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s focus is on nature, and tropical forests in particular. The South American country, home to the largest expanse of the Amazon, has championed a fund to protect tropical forests as part of its COP30 agenda. The Tropical Forests Forever Facility, or TFFF, would pay heavily forested nations — including Brazil — to prevent deforestation. Brazil is looking to raise $25 billion from governments to unlock another $100 billion from private investors. Under Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, deforestation rates have slowed. But forests around the world are still being rapidly deforested. Global finance directed to forests totaled about $84 billion in 2023, while the annual investment required to meet 2030 forest-goals is about $300 billion, according to the United Nations Environment Programme.

  • Bond proceeds. If it reaches the $125 billion target, the TFFF would be the largest blended mechanism of its kind (see Signals, below) and generate up to $4 billion annually in conservation payments. The pooled funds would be invested in a diversified fixed-income portfolio of bonds from emerging markets and other sovereign and corporate debt, with the returns paid out annually to forest-rich nations that keep deforestation below 0.5% of total forested area. Countries meeting that benchmark would receive about $1.6 per acre of standing forest. Brazil made the first financial commitment last month, pledging $1 billion. Other countries have been slower to step up, and Brazil has downsized its fundraising goal to $10 billion by next year. Private investors including PIMCO, Bank of America and Barclays have signaled they would support the fund; China, Norway, France, Germany, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates have expressed interest in contributing (the UK, which participated in the facility’s design process, announced that it would not invest). At least 20% of the disbursements will go directly to Indigenous peoples and local communities, representing one of the largest global financial flows directed to such communities.

Dealflow: Energy Access

Mexico’s Solfium raises $10 million to bring solar to corporate suppliers. Mexico’s small businesses face rising electricity bills, but adoption of solar power has been hampered by market fragmentation, quality issues and lack of financing. “You have a high variability in the quality of the service and of the hardware offered, and as a result, some customers were happy, a lot of customers were not,” said Andrés Friedman of Mexico City-based Solfium. The company integrates financing, installation and performance monitoring to encourage greater solar adoption. Accion Ventures and ALIVE Ventures, Acumen’s Latin American investment group, led Solfium’s $10 million Series A round. The impact investors were drawn to the company for the “opportunity to access solar energy, but also access to credit,” ALIVE’s Lina Moya told ImpactAlpha. Kamay Ventures also participated in the round. The company says it has installed more than 36,000 panels with a total of 25 megawatts of capacity since launching in 2021.

  • Corporate suppliers. Solfium’s growth strategy involves working with large corporations that are trying to decarbonize their value chains. Coca-Cola, for example, is partnering with Solfium to install solar power at corporate facilities as well as for its thousands of small retailers and suppliers. Solfium has similar arrangements with several large Mexican banks. The model delivers benefits on both sides of the equation, Friedman said. “If Coca-Cola helps a convenience store be more efficient and grow and sell more, that’s a commercial opportunity for Coca-Cola, right? When you’re helping your supplier, you’re reducing your operational cost.”
  • Keep reading.

Other investment news crossing our desks:

  • Agrifood investing. Brazil-based Produzindo Certo raised 20.7 million reais from Arar Capital, SP Ventures, The Yield Lab and others to help commodity crop and livestock producers adopt responsible environmental practices.
  • Fund news. Bicycle Capital scored commitment from IDB Invest for its Latin America growth fund, which backs growth-stage tech companies serving small businesses in the region.
  • Green finance. IDB Invest provided $75 million to anchor a sustainable bond from Banistmo in Panama to financial inclusion and climate resilience and adaptation.
  • Inclusive fintech. Sao Paulo-based Kanastra secured $30 million in Series B equity from F-Prime, the International Finance Corp., Kaszek, Valor Capital, Quona Capital and Itaú for its back-end financial infrastructure for private credit providers.
  • Investing in health. Community Investment Management provided $75 million in debt financing to Welli, a Colombian fintech venture that helps underserved patients cover costs for medical needs… J&J Impact Ventures invested in Phelcom is a Brazilian-American company supporting access to affordable eye care… Brazil-based ISA Saúde raised a $30 million Series B equity round backed by the International Finance Corp., IDB Lab, Dalus Capital and Endeavor Catalyst to provide in-home healthcare across the country.
  • Low-carbon transition. Mirova committed $15 million to Mexico-based distributed solar investor Bright Exchange. It’s the asset manager’s first energy investment in Latin America… Sao Paulo-based Vammo, an electric motorcycle leasing company, raised $45 million from Ecosystem Integrity Partners, Monashees, Qualcomm Ventures and other investors.
  • Nature-based solutions. Argentina-based ReForest Latam secured $1.1 million in a pre-seed round to develop regenerative forestry and nature projects in partnership with private companies and nonprofits.
  • Ownership economy. ALIVE Ventures backed Creditú to offer mortgages to first-time homebuyers in Latin America.
  • Small business finance. Singapore-based Ant International made a strategic investment in R2, which helps online marketplaces embed financing as one of their services to small businesses… Fintech venture Zippi secured 85 million reais ($15.9 million) from Itaú, Verde Asset and other investors to provide credit access to Brazil’s small businesses.

Signals: Collective Impact

In Medellín, a collective blueprint for impact takes shape. Impact investors in Latin America are testing alternative ownership structures, creating financing tools that reach the region’s vast informal economy, and backing community-led approaches to water. The goal: build capital models that fit local realities instead of importing Silicon Valley’s playbook. “Resilience flourishes when it is nourished by the diversity of voices, trust and the conviction that another future is possible,” said Latimpacto’s María Carolina Suárez at the recent Impact Minds convening of more than 600 investors and entrepreneurs in Medellín, hosted by Latimpacto.

  • Ownership economy. Purpose LatAm, a Santiago-based nonprofit, has mapped 50 companies across the region experimenting with alternative ownership structures that support economic inclusion, reported ImpactAlpha’s Erik Stein from Medellín in September. Banca Ética, for example, put its voting rights into a nonprofit foundation to anchor governance while raising $13.6 million from investors. In Brazil, Grupo Gaia used a philanthropic endowment fund to hold equity and preserve its mission without losing tax benefits. In Argentina’s Patagonia region, Meliquina is developing a solar project with the Indigenous Mapuche Millaqueo community that includes shared decision-making and equity. Go deeper.
  • AI for impact. Suárez convened a session with representatives of IBM, Lenovo and grassroots educators to address Latin America’s STEM and AI skills gap. Universities like EAN and organizations like CAF and Fundación Neotrópica presented models linking regenerative business, ancestral knowledge and territorial innovation. Eduard Müller from the University for International Cooperation urged the region to “not only reduce harm but restore life.” Read the full dispatch from Latimpacto’s Manuela Jiménez López.

Agents of Impact

Follow the Talent

Natalia Leon, previously with Tent Partnerships for Refugees, replaces Carolina Puerta Ocampo as CEO of the Latin American Impact Investing Forum, or FLII… The Media Development Investment Fund added Patricia Campos, editor of Brazil’s Folha de São Paulo newspaper, to its board of directors… Nathalie Renaud, formerly with USAID, joined Alborada Ventures as a strategy and partnerships advisor. 

Step up

CrossBoundary is hiring a Latin America investment advisor in São Paulo… GAWA Capital seeks a Latin America-focused senior investment officer in Madrid… Acumen has an opening for a Colombia-based analyst for its Acumen Academy… IDB Invest is recruiting a business strategy lead officer in Washington, DC.

Meet Up

Don’t miss these upcoming impact investing events: