March 10, 2021

By Lynda Kiernan, Global AgInvesting Media

Fondo Italiano d’Investimento (Fondo Italiano) is preparing to launch a new “Agritech & Food” thematic fund with a funding target in place of EUR 700 million. 

Launched in 2010 through the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance with the goal of promoting growth in the country’s economy through closed-ended funds, Fondo Italiano operates through both direct investments and fund of funds activities, managing a total of 10 closed-ended funds with AUM exceeding EUR 3 billion.

Bringing this fund to play, Fondo Italiano will provide capital for growth in a medium-to-long-term time horizon in order to promote the increased adoption of technology, and to enlarge and enhance the resilience of Italy’s agri-food chain.

With sustainability and commitment to ESG fundamentals for Fundo Italiano in its investment thesis, Fondo Italiano is launching the Agritech & Food fund in line with its new Business Plan “Forward 2023”, which aims to strengthen sectors that are strategic to Italy’s growth.

With this in mind, the fund will target investment opportunities in the most cutting-edge and highest potential categories including precision farming, seeds, green chemistry for agriculture, bio-energy technologies, agricultural products and related industrial transformation processes, and e-commerce for agricultural products. 

Through this fund, Fondo Italiano will be actively contributing toward the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined by the UN – particularly, however, number 8: “Good employment and economic growth”; number 9: “Enterprise, innovation, and infrastructure”; and number 12: “Responsible consumption and production”.

– Lynda Kiernan is editor with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, and HighQuest Group’s Oilseed & Grain News. She is also a contributor to the GAI Gazette. She can be reached at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com.