About Us
In 2000, The Nature Conservancy with Multilateral Investment Fund of the Inter-American Development Bank launched EcoEnterprises Fund to demonstrate that investment in small and medium-scale enterprises contribute to conservation and business success. Our other stakeholders include the Global Environment Facility through the International Finance Corporation, Corporacion Andina de Fomento, progressive private investors, Avina Foundation, Mott Foundation, family foundations and individual donors.
EcoEnterprises Fund deployed $6.3 million in 23 sustainable companies – companies that offer a wide range of innovative products: from organic shrimp to organic spices, from FSC-certified furniture to pesticide-free, biodynamic flowers, and delicious smoothies made from the acai palmberry, the newest superfood to hit the market. Collectively, these investments generated impressive results – 2,000 jobs created, 289 communities and conservation groups benefited; US$290 million in sales; US$152 million in additional capital leveraged and 533,308 hectares of land conserved – and their success demonstrated that businesses like these can be viable and deliver social and environmental benefits that show results.
EcoEnterprises Fund has been a leader in sustainable investing, supporting small and growing businesses in Latin America now for over a decade. As poverty, climate change, and environmental degradation threaten the planet’s natural resource base, there has never been a more important time for these new ideas and business models to find support. For this reason, with the wind-down of EcoEnterprises Fund in December 2009, EcoE II, the next generation fund will be launched in late 2010.
EcoE II will direct investment capital to support ecosystem markets and community livelihoods, helping sustainable businesses reach scale and maximize conservation and social impacts. EcoE II will target small and growing businesses in sustainable industries such as organic agriculture (including apiculture, aquaculture and community-based energy), ecotourism, sustainable forestry, and non-timber forest products. Our experience has demonstrated that it is businesses of this size that create the engine for economic activity, local community benefits, and conservation progress, and these rapidly expanding sectors provide a basis for profitable portfolio returns. As markets in the ecosystem services space develop, these businesses will provide tangible, revenue-generating investment opportunities that can return real carbon, climate-change, and biodiversity benefits. Business plans and financing proposals are being accepted for investment consideration.
