July 18, 2024

By Gerelyn Terzo, Global AgInvesting Media

The Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) has announced an investment into the Seviora Future of Food and Farming (T3F) Feeder Fund LP, the first of its kind for Asia-based investment manager Seviora Capital, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings. The strategy, which was originally launched in early February, is the product of a partnership between Seviora and Temasek. Through the fund, the firms will back high-growth, late-venture and early-growth agri-food startups domiciled in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. They have already begun doing so.

The final fund close comprised total commitments of $186 million across initial seed capital originating from Seviora Holdings and Temasek, providing an alignment of interest with investors, coupled with a significant commitment from cornerstone investor Norinchukin Bank as well as subsequent participants. In addition to Japan’s DBJ, another investor included an associate of South Korean conglomerate CJ Group.

Seviora CEO Jimmy Phoon lauded the fund’s final close, stating, “We are thrilled with the level of support our inaugural fund attracted and excited to be working with highly skilled partners such as Norinchukin and DBJ in Japan. It highlights the attractiveness of the agri-food sector, particularly to investors in the North Asia region.”

Seviora described the agri-food sector as facing a “pivotal inflection point,” one that creates compelling investment opportunities for firms with capital to deploy. Through the Seviora Future of Food and Farming fund, the managers plan to capitalize on macro trends that are defining the agri-food sector in the APAC region and that will benefit the agri-food value chain.

While Asia is home to nearly two-thirds of the global population, or 4.7 billion people, it only hosts 35 percent of global arable land. Meanwhile, Asia’s population is booming and is expected to add 250 million more citizens by 2030; as a result of which, the world’s biggest continent will need to produce more with less to feed everyone. The region is in need of enhanced solutions to improve agriculture efficiency, market access and financing for farmers.

With its allocation to the Seviora T3F Feeder Fund, DBJ seeks to gain further insights into sustainable and technology-based solutions for food and agriculture challenges, including changing demographics and consumer needs, to foster greater contributions to the industry’s next growth phase.

A DBJ spokesman stated, “Having invested in the Agri-Food sector for the past four years to gain advanced know-how to solve issues in the sector, we believe that Seviora has identified an evolving, high-growth sector that will continue to undergo rapid evolution in the foreseeable future. We are delighted to partner with Seviora and Temasek on this venture.”

Through the strategy, Seviora recognizes “immense opportunities to drive transformation in the [agri-food] industry across the Asia Pacific region.” The fund managers have already begun to spot those opportunities. In early 2024, T3F directed $17 million into Country Delight, an online milk delivery service based in Gurgaon, India.

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