Binyamin Ali

The agtech start-up received a $10m investment from the Gates Foundation to deliver a biodegradable version of its alternative input to smallholder farmers.

The African impact investor fell short of its $300m target but continues to target IRRs ‘in the twenties,’ says managing partner Stuart Bradley.

The asset class has seen a flurry of fund launch activity as its uncorrelated credentials and inherent sustainability chime with new and returning investors.

The firm has teamed up with SilviPar to launch a vehicle that will target low alterative use land in Paraguay to develop a 50,000 ha plantation.

Pulse Agri Investments and Tene Investment Funds plan to bolt on additional agtech services that will benefit from Ahern’s distribution network and established status.

A third of the fund’s returns will be derived from carbon credit sales marketed in New Zealand’s internal marketplace which is not open to foreign purchasers or credits.

Aquapak has developed a plastic product that is three times as strong as the most commonly used plastic globally, and which is soluble and does not harm the environment.

As ag’s nascent carbon credit markets find their feet and the true quality of their respective offerings become clearer, a divergence in price points that impacts farmland values could emerge.

The start-up sold its first ag-derived carbon credits through Nori in October 2020 and has now partnered with a retailer that has sold over $500m worth of carbon offsets since 2001.

Agtech investment data from Pitchbook shows agrifinance and e-commerce firms could double the $587m raised in 2019 to eclipse the $1bn mark for the first time.