Mati Carbon leverages its $50 million XPRIZE to remove carbon and support farmers in tropical zones
What’s the first thing you would do after winning a $50 million prize for your promising solution for both carbon removal and soil …
Tagged with: Smallholder Agriculture
In Colombia, investments rather than aid helped local economies recover from conflict
Ten years ago, Acumen set out to test a hypothesis: Could impact-first capital help rebuild Colombia’s rural communities still reeling from decades of …
IDH backs Ugandan coffee processor to boost local coffee production
Uganda is one of Africa’s top coffee exporters, with 74% of its coffee going to Europe. Much of the value-added processing is done …
Eratani nabs $6.2 million to provide digital services and financing to Indonesia’s small rice farmers
Jakarta-based Eratani acts as a tech-enabled marketplace for small rice farmers, offering the farmers credit, insurance, agronomic support and connections to farm input …
Photo credit: Justo
Investors find value in making emerging market food systems more efficient
A decade ago, a wave of startups started showing up in Kenya, India and other emerging markets tackling the issue of fragmented, under-resourced, …
How Heifer International is using grants and loans to prove that African agriculture is investable
Animal feed production in central Kenya. Dairy production in the nearby Rift Valley. Tractor financing for Kenyan and Nigerian farmers. Global agriculture NGO …
DOB Equity invests in FarmWorks to expand market access for African farmers
In just five years, Nairobi-based FarmWorks has evolved from a produce grower to one of Kenya’s largest local food distributors. It connects some …
Making subsidies smarter by targeting Africa’s farmers and the funds that support them
Farm subsidies are not unique to Africa. Agriculture in the US, Europe, and nearly everywhere else depends on government support and incentives. In …
LARIS event in Bogota
A dozen takeaways from the Latin American Regenerative Investment Summit
Last week, I had the good fortune of attending the Latin American Regenerative Investment Summit, or LARIS, in Bogota, Colombia. This inspiring and …
Photo by Khula.
PepsiCo backs Khula’s marketplace for farmers in South Africa
Investors have reupped in Johannesburg-based Khula, an online platform connecting commercial and smallholder farmers to suppliers, financiers and offtakers. PepsiCo’s agriculture fund, Kgodiso …
Photo by MyLand Agriculture.
MyLand Agriculture snags $4.8 million from Washington state to help farmers improve soil health
Phoenix-based MyLand launched in 2014 to provide “soil-as-a-service” to small farmers and other food growers. The agrifood tech company uses native microalgae and other …
Credit: Mercy Corps
Agriarche raises working capital to connect Nigerian farmers to fair markets
Nigeria’s Agriarche is a female-founded agritech startup that offers farmers and produce aggregators storage, inputs, logistics and payments services. Its mobile platform, called …
Banyu nabs $1.3 million to boost Indonesian seaweed farming
Indonesia is one of the largest producers of seaweed, a key source of nutrition that also absorbs carbon and nitrogen from water. Dominated …
Regenera Ventures secures $9.3 million for regenerative farming in Mexico
Small farmers are collectively the largest landowners in Mexico. The founders of SVX Mexico two years ago set out to invest in agriculture …
Credit: Marut Drones
Investors bet on drones to lift agricultural productivity and women’s livelihoods in India
A tricky tech play for the agriculture sector is finding a place among India’s millions of small-scale farms to strengthen livelihoods and generate …
In Vietnam, bonds for sustainable aquaculture and loans for organic farming
Vietnam made strides in sustainable agriculture with two deals; a bond issuance to support eco-friendly fish farming and an impact-linked loan to help …
Credit: Banco Contactar
Accion invests in Banco Contactar to drive digital financial services to rural Colombia
Accion has invested $15 million investment in Colombian bank Banco Contactar via its $152.5 million Digital Transformation Fund that helps microfinance and other …
Lok Capital invests $6.2 million in drone startup Marut Drones
Hyderabad-based Marut Drones designs unmanned vehicles for crop planting, spraying and surveillance in rural India. It operates a fleet of about 750 drones …
ALIVE Ventures invests in Colombia’s AgriCapital to finance smallholder farmers
AgriCapital has for six years served as a bridge to formal financing for Colombia’s nearly three million farmers, nearly half of whom live …
Photo credit: Sistema.bio
Small-scale biodigester maker Sistema.bio lands $15 million in a bridge round
Mexico City-based Sistema.bio launched in 2010 to give smallholder farmers across Mexico a way to recycle animal waste into biofuel for cooking, heating, …
Credit: Farmworks
Farmworks secures investment to link Kenya’s farmers to markets
Few startups have cracked the code for how to build a sustainable business securing and growing the livelihoods of 500 million smallholder farmers …
Photo by Mad Capital.
RSF Social Finance lends $13.5 million to sustainable food and recycling enterprises
San Francisco-based fund manager RSF Social Finance has made three loans through its RSF Social Investment Fund, an evergreen debt fund looking to …
Credti: GoodSAM
ALIVE Ventures backs GoodSAM to support regenerative farms in Latin America, Africa
Connecticut-based GoodSAM launched in 2019 to help smallholder farmers committed to responsible growing practices reach the US market. The woman-led B Corp sources …
Credit: Two Point O Capital
Two Point O raises $6.3 million to provide green loans to India’s small businesses
To encourage uptake of renewable energy, the Indian government passed a $9 billion subsidy program to support the adoption of small-scale solar systems. …
Credit: NoorNation
Egypt’s NoorNation raises fresh capital for solar-powered water desalination and irrigation
Egypt’s shortage of fresh water is so acute that its supply could run out next year. To help rural communities address water scarcity, …
Credit: WIC Capital
Aruwa and WIC Capital re-up investments in ventures supporting Africa’s female farmers
Nigeria-based Aruwa Capital Management is supporting the livelihoods and financial inclusion of female hibiscus farmers with a follow-on investment in agricultural processor AgroEknor. …
Accion invests $10 million in Los Andes to digitalize micro-lending in Peru
Los Andes, based in the rural town of Puno on Lake Titicaca, has provided access to finance for households, farmers and businesses for more …
Wangara Green Ventures backs Sommalife to expand market access to shea farmers in Ghana
Africa’s shea industry employs nearly 16 million women, providing a critical input to the global confectionery and cosmetic industries. Land degradation and deforestation …
Photo credit: Akiptan
Lending to Native-led producers gives Akiptan an edge in regenerative agriculture
Indigenous lenders and investors are demonstrating new ways of doing business, shaped by and tailored to Indigenous communities themselves. Akiptan, a Native community …
Measuring impact by listening to smallholder farmers at scale in Latin America
It’s no secret that evaluating and measuring impact is essential for ensuring the success of social projects. It aids in informed decision-making, assesses …
Credit: FarMart
ResponsAbility invests in India’s FarMart to streamline food supply chains
Gurgaon-based FarMart is working to improve the efficiency and cut waste from India’s food supply chains through a network of 3,500 local logistics …
Photo by Rize.
Rize scores $14 million to reduce emissions and boost livelihoods for rice farmers
Rice is a staple crop for more than half of the global population. Demand is projected to double by 2050. But traditional rice …
Credit: Farm to Feed
Renew Capital invests in Farm to Feed to curb food waste in Kenya
“Imperfect produce” startups that salvage fresh foods destined for the landfill can be found throughout the US and Europe. Nairobi-based Farm to Feed …
Credit: Cusi
IMPAQTO Capital backs Ecuadorian healthy snacks company Cusi
Cusi sources quinoa, yucca, green plantains, cocoa and other local plants for its line of healthy snack foods from 60 smallholder farmers and …
Pula lands $20 million to offer livestock insurance to smallholder farmers
Insurance tech startup Pula launched in 2015 to provide crop insurance to small scale farmers, 80% of whom lack access to products that …
Credit: SunCulture
For these tech startups and investors, the next big thing is climate adaptation for smallholder farmers
In India, Mati Carbon is providing smallholder farmers with crop inputs that fertilize plants and sequester carbon. In Kenya, SunCulture is helping farmers …
Credit: Mati Carbon
How Mati Carbon is using the carbon markets to address farmers’ adaptation finance gap and boost their incomes
Ashish Kumar is a long-time climate investor and a market / ecosystem builder. He is a strategic advisor to Mati Carbon. This month, …
Credit: SunCulture
SunCulture raises $27.5 million to expand solar irrigation for smallholder farmers
Nairobi-based SunCulture has been making affordable irrigation systems for smallholder farmers in Africa since 2013. A decade ago, farmers had difficulty finding affordable …
Mad Capital raises $14 million in blended capital for regenerative farmland transitions
Mad Capital raised $10 million in 2021 for its debut Perennial Fund, which went on to finance two dozen farmers in the US …
Photo credit: HeavyFinance
HeavyFinance raises €20 million to help farmers regenerate Europe’s agriculture
HeavyFinance offers credit to help farmers and small agri-businesses adopt regenerative practices to improve soil health and sequester carbon. The Lithuania-based crowdfunding platform, …
Photo credit: Warc/Instagram
Warc raises $7.5 million for regenerative agriculture in West Africa
ImpactAlpha, March 7 — Argentinian entrepreneur Emiliano Mroue founded Ghana-based Warc over a decade ago. The social enterprise serves roughly 20,000 smallholder farmers …
Photo credit: Family Bank
Eco.business Fund backs Family Bank to finance climate resilience for farmers in Kenya
ImpactAlpha, February 8 – Most commercial banks in Africa have long dismissed smallholder farmers and other agricultural businesses as too risky. Kenya’s Family …
Aquaconnect raises $4 million to link India’s fish farmers to supplies and markets
ImpactAlpha, January 31 – Chennai-based Aquaconnect supports fish and shrimp farmers with remote monitoring and access to cold storage, logistics and buyers. The …
KisanKonnect’s raises $3.7 million to combat food waste and boost farmers in India
ImpactAlpha, January 18 – Pune-based KisanKonnect started its farm-to-consumer logistics service to cut food waste in India’s inefficient and fragmented food supply chain. …
Photo credit: Aquarech
Investors commit $1.7 million to Aquarech to support fish farmers in Kenya
ImpactAlpha, November 28 – Africa’s fast-growing population is driving increased demand for protein, including fish. With local production dwindling, Kenya is meeting demand …