ResponsAbility raises $106m for climate-agri debt fund
Swiss impact investor ResponsAbility has raised USD 106m for a global climate-smart agriculture and food private debt fund that will be 40% deployed in Asia.
German development bank KfW is the anchor investor. It is supported by Global Affairs Canada, FMO of the Netherlands, the Danish Investment Fund for Developing Countries, Visa Foundation, Calvert Impact Capital, Bank of America, and UK-based family office Ceniarth.
ResponsAbility launched the strategy in February last year in partnership with CGIAR (Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research) with US-based International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) as guarantor. At the time it was touted as the first science-based impact programme targeting food systems transformation.
The Climate Smart Food Systems Fund will provide long-term expansion debt to innovative businesses in the food value chain in South Asia and Southeast Asia, as well as Latin America and Africa. This is hoped to mitigate climate change, reduce food loss, and promote climate change resilience of smallholder farms.
“Asia’s growth, urbanisation and demographic shift is leading to a surge in food demand and a shift in consumption patterns. The need of the hour is to meet this demand sustainably – addressing fragmented supply chains, conserving precious natural resources and integrating climate impact at the core of the business model,” Suhasini Singh, responsibility’s head of sustainable food debt, told AVCJ.
“There are pioneering companies addressing business opportunities across the spectrum and we will partner with them to not only achieve financial goals but cohesively integrate climate targets, assessment and measurement.”
ResponsAbility cites UN data suggesting that global food systems are currently responsible for about one-third of greenhouse gas emissions, in addition to one of the main causes of biodiversity loss and nearly 80% of global deforestation. It observes that USD 350mbn of investment is required per year to mitigate these effects by transforming food systems.
“Business as usual is no longer possible as emissions from the global food system alone could raise global temperatures by 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2050 and climate change puts the global food security at risk,” Singh said in a statement. “We have an opportunity to showcase that there are investable projects in this grossly unfunded space.”
ResponsAbility has deployed more than USD 13bn in impact investments since its inception in 2003 across private equity and debt strategies. Last April, it set a hard cap of USD 450m for its second Asia food PE fund. The first Asia food PE fund, a 2017 vintage vehicle, closed on USD 67.5m. Assets under management came to USD 4.8bn as of March.
More on Europe
Latest News
Asian GPs slow implementation of ESG policies - survey
Asia-based private equity firms are assigning more dedicated resources to environment, social, and governance (ESG) programmes, but policy changes have slowed in the past 12 months, in part due to concerns raised internally and by LPs, according to a...
Singapore fintech start-up LXA gets $10m seed round
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has led a USD 10m seed round for Singapore’s LXA, a financial technology start-up launched by a former Asia senior executive at The Blackstone Group.
India's InCred announces $60m round, claims unicorn status
Indian non-bank lender InCred Financial Services said it has received INR 5bn (USD 60m) at a valuation of at least USD 1bn from unnamed investors including “a global private equity fund.”
Insight leads $50m round for Australia's Roller
Insight Partners has led a USD 50m round for Australia’s Roller, a venue management software provider specializing in family fun parks.