Greetings Agents of Impact!
- Beanstalk AgTech’s venture studio for agricultural innovation in Asia
- Strong by Form raises Series A for sustainable wood products
- WovenEarth closes cleantech fund of funds
- Balad’s strategic backer for remittance payments in Egypt
Featured: Catalytic Capital
Beanstalk AgTech launches Monsoon Ventures to build Southeast Asia’s agtech pipeline.India and Australia have become successful tech hubs for food and agriculture. Can the strategy be replicated across Southeast Asia? Melbourne-based Beanstalk AgTech is counting on it. Its new agtech venture building studio, Monsoon Ventures, is building on the trials, errors and, crucially, wins of its Australia-focused counterpart Drought Venture Studio, to develop deep tech and science-based innovations aimed at improving the climate resilience of Southeast Asia’s smallholder farmers. “Where great science typically gets stuck is at the pilot stage – that gap between proof of concept and commercial launch,” says Beanstalk’sJustin Ahmed. That’s as true in Australia as in Singapore or Indonesia, he tellsImpactAlpha.
- Regional replication.With Drought, Beanstalk has raised more than $22 million and helped launch 15 products for commercialization in the past two years, including GrazeMate’s drone-powered pasture monitoring and ResonAg’ssoil sensing tech. Monsoon Ventures, based in Singapore, will follow the same model: bring promising science innovations in-house, then put scientists and entrepreneurs on the path to commercialization by matching them with capital, corporate partners and offtakers. “We’re focusing on the bio-physical challenges that are critical to climate resilience – biotechnology, equipment and automation – for smallholder agriculture systems,” rather than digital and software solutions, Ahmed explains. The studio plans to incubate 30 ventures over the next five years. It is selecting eight for its first cohort.
- Ecosystem approach.Agriculture is responsible for 15% of Asia’s GDP and 40% of livelihoods in the region. Both digitization and agtech adoption could unlock more than $90 billion in annual GDP gains in the region by 2033. Monsoon Ventures is focusing on Southeast Asia’s larger markets, including Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia. Enterprise Singapore, the city-state’s enterprise development agency, and Netherlands-based Rabo Foundation provided grant funding to get Monsoon Ventures up and running. Rabo Foundation’s Bram Spann said the foundation is excited by Beanstalk’s “whole ecosystem” approach. The philanthropic arm of Dutch bank Rabo Bank deploys tens of millions of euros every year in sustainable and resilient farming projects worldwide, mostly as low-cost, working capital loans. “With this commercialization angle,” Spann says, “we will hopefully see some companies that we can finance.”
- Keep reading, “Beanstalk AgTech launches Monsoon Ventures to build Southeast Asia’s agtech pipeline,” by Jessica Pothering.
Live on Edge: Climate Smart Agriculture
GPs investing in resilient food systems.ImpactAlpha Edgeis tracking nearly 100 GPs and over 200 LPs that are mobilizing capital to regenerative and sustainable agriculture in emerging markets.
Dealflow: Follow the Money
Strong by Form secures $6.6 million from strategic investors to make sustainable building materials in Europe.The Chilean company got its start eight years ago to improve the sustainability and environmental footprint of building materials, which account for 11% of carbon emissions worldwide. Its high-tech process turns low-value and cast-off wood of any species into lightweight, ultra-durable materials for construction and transportation. Strong by Form’s ambition is to prove that wood can be designed and manufactured with the same specificity and versatility as, say, fiberglass. “We want to build a platform where anyone can create their own products,” co-founder Andres MitniktoldImpactAlpha. The startup raised $6.6 million toward its $10 million to $15 million Series A funding goal to get a pilot manufacturing plant set up in Spain.
- Construction and transportation.Strong by Form is supported by strategic backers, including Vinci, one of Europe’s largest construction companies. Europe, said Mitnik, is the highest growth market for high-rise timber buildings. “You see 20-story buildings made of wood.” The company says its construction-grade product, “woodflow core,” “delivers the same load-bearing capacity as reinforced concrete, at a fraction of the weight, time and CO2 emission.” The product reduces the need for concrete by taking on a structure’s horizontal loads; it’s not designed to bear the full load. Strong by Form is also working with European train operators on specialized products for trains. The EU is an ideal market to demonstrate commercial potential, said Mitnik, because the bloc has a single certification for wood-based building, compared to the US, where certification happens on a state by state basis.
- Family office.The Series A round was led by US-based family office Boisei Investments. Boisei’s founder George Perryis a professor of anthropology and biology at Penn State who also runs a venture studio for underinvested technologies. He made some successful early bets on electric vehicles and solar in China. Other investors includeTeampact, Ternel, Axel Carbon, VX Venturesand an undisclosed Chilean family office. Strong by Form’s seed investor CMPCreupped in the round.
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WovenEarth raises $155 million fund-of-funds for early-stage cleantech. The women-led investment firm in Palo Alto, Calif., reached the final close for its second cleantech fund of funds. Its strategy gives investors exposure to ventures in geothermal energy, battery storage, critical minerals and other “Cleantech 2.0” startups. “We are in the midst of a massive innovation wave,” saidWovenEarth’s Jane Woodward. “It has the capacity to boost profits and reduce risk in key areas such as AI-driven electricity demand, domesticating supply chains, and the rising cost of extreme weather.” Limited partners in the new fund include Pennsylvania State University, Glenmede, Mortenson Family Foundation, MA Mortenson Company, manufacturing company JM Huber Corp., and several foundations and family offices.
- LP/GP.WovenEarth has already invested in seven funds and made 20 co-investments alongside its GPs, which is also part of the strategy. Its first clean tech fund of funds raised $152 million and built a portfolio that includes water-focused Burnt Island Ventures and regenerative food-focusedTrailhead Ventures. The second fund brings WovenEarth’s total assets under management to about $330 million.
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Balad secures strategic investment to expand remittances in Egypt.The women-led fintech venture was set up four years ago to smooth the flow of remittance payments from the Arab Gulf and Europe back to Egypt. Money flows from the diaspora community and others to families and businesses in Egypt have surged to $43.1 billion in the past year. The founders are looking to expand to Libya, Morocco, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia. A majority investment from Egyptian asset management firm EFG Holdingwill help Balad scale consumer remittances and also offer infrastructure for other financial institutions to offer remittance services. The deal gives EFG the option to acquire Balud outright within the next four years.
- Active investors. First Circle, a women-led and focused fintech venture capital firm, retains its stake in Balad. The early-stage VC firm first backed Balad in 2022, at a time when Balad struggled to raise capital because local investors were concerned about regulatory hurdles for remittances. “Balad is not replacing banks. It is driving digitization of remittances and helping banks get more remittances into the system through formal channels,” First Circle’s Selma Ribica told ImpactAlpha. First Circle reupped its investment in 2024. EFG Holding’s investment and network across the Middle East and North Africa “open up so many opportunities for Balad,” Ribica said.
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Agents of Impact: Follow the Talent
Mark Davisis promoted to chief investment officer at Norfund. Bjørnar Baugerud takes over Davis’ previous responsibilities as executive vice president for renewable energy… Beanstalk AgTechis hiring a head of studio, a partnerships lead and a venture lead for Monsoon Ventures, its new agtech venture building studio in Singapore (see Feature, above)..Impact Collectiveis hiring a managing director in Concord, Calif… Raven Outcomesseeks an investment associate… Boannhas an opening for an investment analyst or senior analyst in Toronto.
Black Farmer Fund is searching for an impact lending and relationship associate and a community engagement intern… GSG Impactis looking for an impact investing policy officer in the UK… The International Fund for Agricultural Developmentis on the hunt for a senior investment officer in Rome… The UN Office for Project Servicesis searching for a fund coordination specialist in Geneva… Investors Circle and DAF Commons will host a webinar “Unlocking DAFs for impact investing,” on Wednesday, Aug. 19.
👉 View (or post) impact investing jobs on ImpactAlpha’s Career Hub.
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