ImpactAlpha’s deal news coverage for the week:
Agrifood investing. Agrolend raises $53 million to expand financial services for Brazil’s small farmers… Stellapps, an India-based startup using data analytics and sensors to manage dairy farm operations, raised $26 million in equity and debt from Omnivore, IDH Farmfit Fund, the US International Development Finance Corp. and others.
Climate finance. German climate tech startup Autarkize raised €2.3 million ($2.5 million) from Dutch impact investor Fair Capital Impact Fund, Innovation for Impact and others to expand its biogas operations, which convert organic waste into renewable gas and biochar… International Finance Corp. invested $25 million in a blue bond and $50 million in a green bond, both issued by QNB Türkiye to enhance climate financing for small and large businesses in the country.
Energy transition. DC Green Bank and Amalgamated Bank will provide an affiliate of Aligned Climate Capital with $13 million to build a $20 million, 6.1-megawatt community solar project in Washington, DC, for more than 1,000 households across all eight District wards… Earthbond raises $200,000 to bring solar energy to Nigeria’s small businesses… King Energy, a Colorado startup that installs solar panels on multi-tenant commercial buildings across North America, raised $10 million from Canada’s Active Impact Investments and other investors… Stockholm-based CorPower Ocean raised €32 million ($35.2 million) in a Series B1 round to commercially roll out its flagship product, which captures wave energy and converts it into electricity.
Fund news. Ireland’s Blue Revolution Fund raised $101 million for sustainable aquaculture… Nuveen raised $170 million for its first global impact credit strategy.
Green infrastructure. Cape Town-based Vantage Capital, an Africa-focused mezzanine fund manager, invested €66 million ($71 million) in Camusat to expand telecommunications infrastructure in Africa.
Green mobility. 500 Global led a $1.3 million investment in Cairo-based Rabbit Mobility to expand the use of electric scooters and bikes in Egypt and enter other North African countries… Kenya’s BasiGo raises $42 million in equity and debt for ‘pay-as-you-drive’ e-buses.
Inclusive finance. Mexican fintech Albo secured a $60 million credit line from emerging markets-focused private credit fund Sixpoint Capital to enhance its credit products for consumers and small and midsize businesses in Mexico… Microfinance for Senegal and other fragile economies sees capital infusion… Opportunity Finance Network and MassMutual Foundation announced a $25 million, five-year partnership to scale community development finance institutions.
Low-carbon transition. Kenya’s Octavia Carbon raised $5 million in a seed round co-led by Lateral Frontiers and E4E Africa for commercial deployment of its carbon removal technology… RIFT, a spin-off from Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, snagged €11 million ($12 million) to secure commercial contracts for its iron fuel technology for low-carbon industrial heat… The US Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office issued a $162 million loan guarantee to Colorado-based LongPath Technologies to set up more than 1,000 remote monitoring towers to track methane emissions in oil and gas producing regions… UK’s Turnover Labs, which helps chemical plants turn their carbon emissions into chemical building blocks, landed $1.4 million in a pre-seed round led by Pace Ventures & GC Ventures.
Powered by AI. Aether Energy raises $2.5 million for streamlined AI-powered rooftop solar installation… Jüsto, a vertically integrated online grocery platform in Mexico, Brazil and Peru that uses AI for demand forecasting and food waste reduction, raised $70 million in equity and debt from General Atlantic and HSBC México to expand, primarily in Mexico… Oriole Networks, which uses light to train AI models up to 100 times faster for saving energy, raised €20.2 million ($22 million) to get products to market by early 2025… Seattle-based Carbon Robotics raised $70 Million to scale its AI-powered precision weed control tool LaserWeeder, which cuts chemical herbicide use.
Sustainable fashion. Indigenous-led streetwear brand Section 35 lands funding from Raven Indigenous Capital Partners.
Workforce training. Achieve Partners, through its quality jobs fund, invested an undisclosed amount in RiseNow, a Kansas-based boutique advisory and strategy firm focused on procurement and supply chain issues… TPG Rise Fund led a $150 million investment in Eruditus to expand access to executive education programs.