The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is the newest investor in The Yield Lab Latam’s third fund, the Opportunity Fund, a venture capital fund specialized in agriculture and food technology in Latin America and the Caribbean. The fund will invest in 30 companies in the Seed and Series A/B stages in the region over the next few years and is in the final stage of fundraising.
Through the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), a GEF accredited agency, GEF has committed an investment totaling $6 million. GEF joins other important organizations investing in the fund, such as Nestlé, the world’s largest food and beverage company; Grupo Bimbo, the world’s largest bread producer; SQM, a Chilean mining company active in strategic sectors for sustainable development such as health and food; Fondo de Fondos, a specialized investment firm from Mexico, and IDB Lab, the innovation and venture capital arm of the IDB.
“The fund aims to raise $50 million to invest in startups that are reshaping the agri-food value chain in an inclusive, transparent, innovative, and disruptive manner. Since its inception, it has been supported by well-known players in the innovation market and institutional investors in various countries in Latin America, with the aim of promoting innovation in the food technology and agriculture sector and being an important bridge between agri-food and venture capital ecosystems throughout the region,” explains The Yield Lab Latam Managing Director, Santiago Murtagh.
For GEF, the Yield Lab Opportunity Fund is a broad opportunity to accelerate technology and local innovation for sustainable and decarbonized food systems in Latin America and the Caribbean. “The objective of the Project is to support a transition to decarbonized and sustainable food systems through systematic acceleration and expansion of technology-based catalytic solutions, strengthening stakeholders as a means to achieve climate change mitigation, adaptation, and restoration,” says the official statement on its website.
“At IDB Lab, we are committed to fostering innovation and supporting the growth of startups that can drive transformative change in the agri-food sector. The Yield Lab Latam’s Opportunity Fund aligns with our mission to catalyze solutions for sustainable development. We are excited to see the positive impact this investment will have on food systems in Latin America and the Caribbean,” said Magdalena Coronel, CIO of IDB Lab.
The regional fund will invest at a critical stage for early-stage companies, thereby enabling the implementation of high-impact solutions that address some of the most important needs and barriers in the agri-food sector.
About The Yield Lab Latam
The Yield Lab Latam is part of a global network of Venture Capital funds focused on AgriFood Tech, which initiated activities in St. Louis, Missouri in 2014. The network is now present across four continents, including North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific. The Yield Lab Latam was founded in 2017 and has offices in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Chile. The fund’s thesis is to invest in Latin America based companies across the entire food and agriculture innovation spectrum, from farm to fork.
About GEF
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is a multilateral family of funds dedicated to confronting biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution, and supporting land and ocean health. Its financing since 1992, enables developing countries to address complex challenges and work towards international environmental goals. The partnership includes 186 member governments as well as civil society, Indigenous Peoples, women, and youth, with a focus on integration and inclusivity. Over the past three decades, the GEF has provided nearly $25 billion in financing and mobilized another $138 billion for thousands of priority projects and programs. The family of funds includes the Global Environment Facility Trust Fund, Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF), Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF), Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF), Nagoya Protocol Implementation Fund (NPIF), and Capacity-building Initiative for Transparency Trust Fund (CBIT).
About IDB Lab
IDB Lab is the innovation and venture capital arm of the Inter-American Development Bank Group. We discover new ways to drive social inclusion, environmental action and productivity in Latin America and the Caribbean. IDB Lab leverages financing, knowledge and connections to support early-stage entrepreneurship, foster new technologies, activate innovative markets and catalyze existing sectors. www.idblab.org.