Pragma and Kaeté have R$ 200 million for Private Equity and Venture Capital Funds to Invest in Projects with Sustainability Impact

Asset managers are eyeing environmental and sustainable projects. Pragma is constituting the second Investment Fund (FIP) of approximately R$ 100 million, of which 20% will be allocated to innovative companies where traditional investors usually not participate. “We are eyes in water and education projects,” says Paulo Bellotti, partner at Pragma.

Among the companies that have gone through the portfolio of Pragma is Mar & Terra, fish farming. “We realized that the demand for fish meat was increasing and increasingly tight supply, either through capture fisheries, or by captivity. – Restricted to tilapia and salmon this scenario, we developed a captive breeding technology for pintado and Pirarucu”, he explains. Last year, the company, which has been gaining scale since 2003, received additional funding from Stratus, another fund. “They bought 40% of the company for R$ 25 million.” Besides Mar & Terra, Terra Nova, another company that operates in mediating conflicts invaded urban areas; it is also in the plans of Pragma. “We approved the investment on Monday now,” he says.

Terra Nova provides financing to residents for the acquisition of land seizures. “In Brazil there are three million families who invaded private areas in big cities and calculated that such land are valued at approximately R$ 100 billion. They are active dead, both for people who live in the region, and for the owner of the land. This type of market offers good room to work”.

Another manager who is structuring a FIP focused in environmental projects is the Kaeté Investimentos. “We already have R$ 95 million committed, for a fund of the size of R$ 100 million. We focus on small and medium-sized enterprises, located in the Amazon, and which are already operating”, adds Luis Fernando Laranja, Kaeté founding partner, which was founded about a year ago.

They will choose five to eight projects to receive investments that may range from R$ 5 million to R$ 25 million. “It is a regional fund, but not sectoral focused. The fund analyzes companies in wide range, which operate from the cosmetic sector to energy generation”.
Philanthropy

If in one hand FIP’s managers seek projects that deliver attractive returns in the medium and long terms, on the other hand philanthropy funds aims to support sustainable projects or impact investments. This is the case of the Vale’s fund, which was founded by Vale, Brazil’s mining compay, in 2009. “We are not only donors and project financiers. We seek metrics in our investments”, said Mirela Sandrini, Director of the institution’s operations for Vale’s fund.

Last year, the Vale Fund increased the portfolio of eight projects to 22 projects. Currently, 19 projects are operating. The geography of those investments, previously restricted to Pará State, also grew, reaching Amazonas, Acre and Mato Grosso States. “We are in prospecting. By the end of this year, we want to reach Rondônia and Amapá States,” added Mirela.

By Vanessa Correia for “Brasil Econômico”