ImpactAlpha’s deal news coverage for the week:
Agrifood investing. BioConsortia, a California-based company developing bacteria-based agricultural products to increase crop yields and improve sustainability, raised $15 million in a round led by Otter Capital… Onego Bio raised $40 million in Series A equity for its fungi-based egg-white alternative… Sparxell, a UK-based developer of plant-based pigments, raised $3.2 million in seed funding from the Circular Innovation Fund and other funders.
Circular economy. German sustainable packaging venture Watttron secured €12 million ($13 million) in Series B funding from Circular Innovation Fund, the European Circular Bioeconomy Fund and other backers.
Electric vehicles. CFAO Group made a $3 million equity investment in Kenyan electric bus maker BasiGo to increase production in Kenya and Rwanda… Indian electric two-wheeler maker Ola Electric secured $50 million in debt ahead of its planned IPO.
Food waste to value. Terragia Biofuel snagged $6 million to produce low-carbon ethanol and other biofuels from biomass, such as wood, rice and wheat straw, and corn stover… UK-based Wase inked €9.9 million ($10.7 million) to help food and beverage companies manage wastewater and convert organic waste to renewable biogas… Also in the UK, Clean Food Group secured £2.5 million ($3.2 million) to convert food waste into oils and other ingredients for use in foods and cosmetics.
Good jobs. Aavsihakaar backed Midland Bank to boost ESG in Bangladesh’s textile industry… SDS Capital’s National New Markets Fund made a $17.5 million investment in Rich Products, a food company headquartered in New York, to create full-time manufacturing jobs for minority workers in Texas… Seso inked $26 million to address US farm labor shortages.
Green buildings. Cambia Capital secured $20 million for the first close of its Douglas Fir Fund, which invests in residential real estate developments that are leveling up green building practices beyond what’s required for third-party certification.
Green infrastructure. Greenbacker provided $100 million to battery storage developer Lightshift Energy… IRA-backed program committed $4 billion in tax credits for 100 green projects… Morgan Stanley’s private equity group acquired Resource Innovations, a tech company and advisory firm focused on helping utilities, government agencies and corporations improve energy efficiency and cut their carbon footprints.
Healthy forests. Brazil’s Umagrauemeio raised $3.7 million from Indicator Capital, Baraúna Investimentos, The Yield Lab Latam and Rural Ventures for its forest surveillance software that is designed to detect and/or predict forest fires… The World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility made its largest carbon payment to date, disbursing $51 million to Vietnam for initiatives to reduce deforestation.
Inclusive lending. Brazil’s Izi raised $800,000 to provide credit for rural producers and agribusiness associations that supply supermarket chains… Citi extended loans to Banco Popular Dominicano and Banco Santa Cruz, to expand working capital lending to small businesses in the Dominican Republic… Gawa Capital and OikoCredit invested in Sindhuja Microcredit for rural lending in India… Known launched ‘founder-centric’ investment bank for mid-sized companies… Uganda’s Credify raised early funding to address Africa’s trade finance gap.
