ImpactAlpha’s deal news coverage for the week:
Emerging markets. Village Capital deployed $500,000 to three Ghanaian startups through its FMO-backed Africa Ecosystem Catalysts Facility, which taps local partners to source and vet deals… The Botswana Tech Fund reached a $6.7 million first close anchored by Pula Investments and the family office of Hargreaves Lansdown founder Stephen Lansdown… Family office A to Z Impact invested in Nigeria-based CropSafe to support agri-processing and exports.
Financial inclusion. Lafayette Square backed RM Capital Partners’ acquisition of Samaha & Associates, a Miami-based consultancy helping credit unions modernize decades-old banking technology… South African fintech Zazu, which provides invoicing and bookkeeping for small businesses, secured seed funding from Launch Africa Ventures.
Health equity. Egypt-based Reme-D raised $1.5 million in a pre-Series A round led by Anara Impact Capital for fast, low-cost diagnostic kits that need no refrigeration or lab equipment… Oakland-based Juno Bio took in $3.8 million from Ada Ventures, Entrepreneur First and Illumina Accelerator for its vaginal microbiome test kit.
Low-carbon transition. Battery tech developer Sila raised $300 million from Atreides Management, Sutter Hill Ventures, T. Rowe Price-managed funds and others to expand its Washington state plant… French green cement startup NeoCem landed €17 million ($19 million) in a round led by Crédit Mutuel Impact… Blue Energy, a developer of prefabricated nuclear power plants, secured a strategic equity investment from Constellation’s venture arm.
Renewable energy. Mirova invested €150 million ($171 million) in Yanara to expand the utility-scale renewables developer’s portfolio in Australia… British International Investment and the Emerging Africa and Asia Infrastructure Fund committed $75 million in mezzanine debt to Blueleaf Energy, which aims to develop five gigawatts of renewables in India by 2030.
Energy access. AfricaGoGreen Fund provided $10.7 million in debt to BioLite to sell clean cookstoves in Zambia, with Switzerland’s KliK Foundation buying the resulting carbon credits.
Climate finance. Acumen secured $90 million toward a $120 million target for its second Resilient Agriculture Fund, with Green Climate Fund and FASA as catalytic first-loss investors backing agri-ventures across Africa, now including Egypt and Morocco.
Agrifood investing. Singapore-based Rize raised $31 million in Series B equity and debt from BNP Paribas Asset Management, Temasek, Breakthrough Energy Ventures and others to pay smallholder farmers to cut methane from rice paddies… Amsterdam-based Agri3 Fund landed $2.4 million from the Swiss SDG Impact Finance Initiative for its guarantees to banks lending to sustainable agri-businesses… Chipotle’s Cultivate Next fund invested in Vermont-based crop treatment developer Imio and five other sustainable food system companies.
Affordable housing. Citi Impact Fund committed $25 million to tech startups tackling housing chokepoints like slow permitting, part of Citigroup’s $60 billion Blueprint for Housing Opportunity.
Nature & biodiversity. Alder Point Capital Management secured $4 million from the Rockefeller Foundation to acquire and restore US timberland and farmland with local farmers and foresters.
Circular economy. Spain-based Bzero clinched €1.5 million ($1.7 million) from Impact Shakers Ventures and Viscofan for biodegradable packaging.
