Investment is crucial to market transformation. However, many sustainable development projects miss out on financing owing to uncertainties in outcomes, insufficient returns, or inadequate investment size in the market. From co-funding business models to developing investable projects and managing impact funds, IDH Invest’s solutions address this significant gap in the market by mobilising a blend of public and private capital to realise otherwise impossible impact projects. IDH Invest works to deliver innovative financial solutions not sufficiently offered by other institutions or funds.
The Hub aims to prepare impactful businesses and align them to investor requirements in the sustainable agriculture and forestry sectors, to stop and reverse land degradation in Colombia. This will lead to a positive impact on smallholders and rural communities while also collaborating with financial institutions to attract investment and set up a platform for sustainable growth.
-Roel Messie, Chief Investment Officer at IDH
On 8 May , IDH officially launched its first Investment Development Hub with its pilot site in Colombia.
reVive : Landscape Investment Development Hub Colombia (“the Hub”) described at the event by participants as an “opportunity that should be seized” aims to showcase a world where, with the right blend of specialized and local technical assistance and the right mix of capital, more projects are ready for investment. It is a vision designed to unlock investment to stop and reverse the land degradation from commodity production while promoting sustainable agricultural practices that benefit smallholder farmers. This initiative spans over 3 years and aims to restore 3,000 hectares and place 3,000 hectares of land under improved agricultural practices. Furthermore, 9,500 farmers (including 50% of women) will benefit directly from this Hub.
The Event brought together stakeholders across the sustainable land use sector, ranging from government representatives and the public sector, to private sector working on deforestation-free commodities (coffee, palm, cacao), impact investors and potential investees i.e. Ministry of Environment and Sustainability Colombia, Conservation International , Solidaridad, Incofin, Federacion Nacional de Cacao, Crezcamos, to name a few. The private sector comprises Cafexport Sucursal Colombia, Luker, Hacienda La Cabaña (a producer and extractor of palm oil), Caravela Coffee, and Colcocoa.
Following the launch, the CIGEF and IDH teams embarked on a field trip to Huila, accompanied by Conservation International, Agrapp and Innovakit.
The Approach in Colombia
Given that investing in impactful initiatives facilitates large-scale land restoration and improves income, in the case of Colombia, a national Technical Assistance (TA) Hub is established with at least 40 potential SMEs assessed for this potential, incorporating smallholder and community investment projects, including more than 30% that are women-led. With a strong preference for potential investment projects with a landscape commitment, the Hub builds a pipeline and enables access to suitable capital.
Background
reVive: Landscape Investment Development Hub Colombia (“the Hub”) is a Global Environmental Facility-funded project, in partnership with Conservation International as an implementing GEF agency and executed by IDH. The vision for the Hub was shaped by the experience of IDH Landscape Finance in managing Technical Assistance facilities for IDH partner funds, including LDN, AGRI3, &Green and Farmfit. The Hub sets the vision for the future scaling of investment hubs and the network of investors. It also builds on the proven history of IDH in developing Landscape projects, as IDH’s linkages to the governments and sector-building approach to help de-risk investment in this space.
Learn more about LDN TAF & The Landscape Investment Development Hub Colombia
Event Highlights in Photos
Contact Information:
Participants' Testimonials
I define this day as "High Impact" because each of the participants represent a community and they are individuals who catalyse change in different parts of Colombia.
It's essential that this project directs its efforts towards meeting and aligning with government goals, specifically in this case, with objectives and targets set forth by the United Nations regarding desertification goals and land degradation neutrality.
This initiative is key for the ministry. The Hub will primarily provide technical assistance to prepare projects and initiatives that have made good progress and require funding. The focus of the Ministry is to support the identification of projects that can be supported, especially in the dry forest areas in the already prioritized regions. We expect to truly consolidate a bank of fundable projects to meet the country's goal of land and soil degradation neutrality.
I know some companies that cannot access finance due to structural weaknesses, but if they have access to pre-investment technical assistance (through the reVive Hub) the probability of obtaining financing within 1 or 2 years by impact investors such as INCOFIN increases.