ImpactAlpha’s deal news coverage for the week:
Agrifood investing. Fondation Valery provided a six-year, impact-linked loan to NatureRe to buy and restore degraded land in Colombia’s Antioquia region… Social Finance invested in FARM Fund to support regenerative agriculture in the US.
Clean energy tech. AP Ventures closed its third fund at $300 million from undisclosed investors to help tech companies commercialize. It focuses on green hydrogen, carbon capture, recycling, and decarbonization technologies for hard to abate sectors… Two Point O Capital raised $10 million, backed by Transition Venture Capital and Omnivore, to help companies in India finance and install renewable energy and water management systems.
Education access. Potencia Ventures invested 1.2 million reais in Brazilian edtech startup Leme, which works with Brazil’s municipal governments to identify educational disparities.
Foodtech. Climate and food-focused investment firm SP Ventures led a $5 million Series A round for Ceres, a Colombian startup that is helping retailers optimize inventory ordering, logistics and in-store stocking with its AI-based predictive software.
Fund news. Aquiti VC, a Bordeaux, France-based VC firm, raised €60 million to invest in early-stage health and climate tech startups from southern France… Deetken Impact waded into institutional territory with climate resilience growth fund… TPG raised a $10.4 billion climate fund as institutional LPs gravitate to bigger managers.
Green infrastructure. Group14 Technologies, a Washington-based maker of silicon battery materials, closed a €150 million ($169 million) Series D extension round from undisclosed investors… NewEdge Power, a developer of utility-scale solar, battery storage and distributed power projects, secured an undisclosed commitment from Strategic Value Partners. They will also form a joint venture to expand NewEdge’s development in US markets where there’s growing electricity demand from manufacturing, electrification and data center growth.
Investing in Europe. Norrsken Evolve reached a €62 million final close to invest in early-stage European tech startups working to make energy, logistics, building, manufacturing, healthcare, food, privacy and societies more sustainable… UK-based social impact investor Better Society Capital invested in first-time fund manager Evertrue Capital, which invests in pre-seed-stage European AI companies.
Investing in health. Seattle-based Kivo Health raised $10 million from Allumia Ventures, Corewell Health Ventures, Y Combinator, Heuristic Capital and MassMutual Ventures to help seniors manage chronic diseases.
Returns on inclusion. EIB Global, the European Investment Bank’s global development arm, is extending a €20 million loan to Dashen Bank to lend to agricultural enterprises in Ethiopia. Dashen Bank will match EIB Global’s investment and reserve 30% of the loans for women-led companies and climate-focused businesses… Flourish Ventures invested another $6 million for Africa’s overlooked founders.
Small business finance. Accion, Alive Ventures, Mundi Ventures and 30N Ventures backed Colombia-based FinMaq’s $6.5 million Series A round. The fintech company finances machinery and equipment for small businesses with loans and lease-to-purchase options.
Waste management. Aruwa Capital Management led a growth equity round for Polysmart Packaging, a plastic recycling company in Nigeria… Also in Nigeria, TLG Capital provided a line of credit to Koolboks, a company that makes solar-powered freezers and sells them on a pay-as-you-go basis to curb food, vaccine and pharmaceutical waste.
