By Gerelyn Terzo, Global AgInvesting Media
The Corporate Group of the Foundation for Business and Agricultural Development (FUNDEA), which is focused on impact investing in Central and South America, has joined the lineup of backers in The Yield Lab Latam’s third venture capital fund, dubbed the Opportunity Fund. The Opportunity Fund’s strategy is to invest in agri-tech and food-tech startups in Latin America and the Caribbean. Yield Lab LATAM boasts a strategy to back nearly three-dozen early-stage companies at the Seed and Series A/B stages across the region in the coming years.
FUNDEA’s investment marks the Opportunity Fund’s maiden capital injection from Guatemala. Fund three’s areas of focus include climate change, land degradation and chemicals and waste. The Yield Lab is looking to amass $50 million to invest in agri-food tech companies in the Latin American region.
FUNDEA joins an investor roster that extends to the Global Environment Facility, Swiss food giant Nestlé, bread producer Grupo Bimbo, cherry producer and exporter Garcés Fruit, Chilean mining company SQM, Mexican investment firm Fondo de Fondos, as well as the Inter-American Development Bank’s innovation and venture capital arm, IDB Lab, among others.
Nestle first announced its partnership with Yield Lab in 2023 in a move to support startups transforming the agriculture industry. Through the Inter-American Development Bank, GEF recently committed to invest $6 million in the Opportunity Fund.
Image courtesy of The Yield Lab LATAM via LinkedIn
FUNDEA Corporate Group Executive Vice President Guillermo Caal stated, “Partnering with The Yield Lab Latam is an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to the positive transformation of the agricultural sector and the creation of a more resilient and efficient future. This partnership aligns with our strategic vision and allows us to participate in a new investment model that supports our growth and geographic expansion.”
The Yield Lab Latam Managing Partner Santiago Murtagh commented, “The Yield Lab Latam and FUNDEA Corporate Group will be able to further expand their initiatives, positively impacting not only Guatemala but also several other countries where we already operate. The Opportunity Fund has been backed by well-known players in the innovation market and institutional investors from various Latin American countries, with the goal of promoting innovation in agri-tech and food-tech while bridging the gap between agri-food ecosystems and venture capital in the region.”
Founded in 2017, Yield Lab has offices spread across Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico and is part of a global network of VC firms based in St. Louis, Missouri.
The content put forth by Global AgInvesting News and its parent company HighQuest Partners is intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes only. All information or other material herein is not to be construed as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. Global AgInvesting and HighQuest Partners are not a fiduciary in any manner, and the reader assumes the sole responsibility of evaluating the merits and risks associated with the use of any information or other content on this site.