July 13, 2020

By Lynda Kiernan, Global AgInvesting Media

In September 2019, Ireland’s VentureWave Capital launched Impact Ireland – a new fund that is a member of the Global Impact Investing Network and the first signatory out of Ireland on the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation’s Operating Principles for Impact Measurement. 

Less than a year later, in May of this year, the fund had its first close. Although exact financial terms were not disclosed, the close is understood to be between EUR 20 million (US$22.7 million) and EUR 30 million (US$34 million) toward a funding goal of EUR 100 million (US$112 million). 

Targeting irish startups advancing “technology for good” concepts, the fund will be seeking investment opportunities in up to 15 cloud-based tech companies in the food, agriculture, education, healthcare, energy and environmental sectors with high potential for scaling and growth, and that strive to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Under an investment structure that mixes private equity with venture capital investments, each investment will be between EUR 1 million (US$1.1 million) and EUR 25 million (US$28.3 million).

Impact and socially responsible investing has gained serious traction in recent years, however, the UN estimated that there remains a $2.5 trillion (with a “t”) funding gap per year between current impact investing levels and what is needed to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in emerging countries alone.

This investment framework offers not only an overarching benefit to society and the environment, but the potential for healthy returns as well. The Global Impact Investor Network (GIIN) concluded that between 2016 and 2018, impact AUM saw a 400 percent increase, climbing from US$120 billion to US$500 billion over the two-year period.

VentureWave Capital, which is led by chairman Alan Foy and managing partner Kieran McLoughlin together with an experienced team of executives skilled in finance, tech, entrepreneurialism, and sales, also made note of the surge of investor interest in impact investing.

“Impact investing is growing rapidly worldwide in recognition of the central role and responsibility of business in meeting key social and environmental challenges,” VentureWave Capital noted in a statement. 

Backing the fund are a wide range of entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, philanthropists, and high profile entertainers including David Howell Evans (the Edge) and Adam Clayton from the Irish band U2. 

“It will be a powerful corps of advocates for developing the next generation of successful Irish businesses and accelerating the impact that they will have,” said Edna Kenny, chair of the fund’s Global Advisory Council. 

“We are privileged to be able to draw on the experience and insights of such a remarkable group of people in the Global Advisory Council, especially in promoting Ireland,” added McLoughlin. 

Agtech in Ireland

As agtech has matured into a strong stand-alone investment class, Ireland has emerged as an interesting European epicenter for investment in the sector.

Nathan Trust notes that agriculture employs 8.6 percent of Ireland’s workforce, supporting the country’s agricultural and food exports valued at EUR 11.15 billion (US$12.65 billion). The country accounts for 10 percent of the global powdered milk supply and with farmers that are at the fore of adopting new technologies, is a global leader in tracking the genomic sequence of its 30 million cattle. 

The country’s vibrant pool of talent and a robust pipeline of scientific innovation being conducted at a range of research institutions attracted California-based agtech venture pioneer Finistere Ventures to launch its €20M Ireland AgTech Fund (IAF) to bridge California’s Silicon Valley with Ireland and the EU. 

“We are expanding from the Silicon Valley to the Silicon Docks,” said Arama Kukutai, co-founder and partner at Finistere Ventures, in 2017. “Ireland has become a hotbed for tech companies and is a prime location to serve as a beachhead into the European Union for leading AgTech innovators from around the globe.”

“We think Ireland has great potential to be a hub for European Agtech,” said Kieran Furlong, an Ireland native with Finistere who relocated to Dublin to serve in the role as partner for the IAF. “Ireland combines an innovative domestic agri-food industry with the European home of Silicon Valley’s tech giants. This rare pairing underlies the best Agtech startup ecosystems making Ireland a natural home for Finistere.”

– 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.