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Verde VenturesTriple Bottom Line
Investing
Fund Overview
Mission of Conservation International
Conservation International’s mission is to conserve the Earth’s living natural heritage, our global biodiversity, and to
demonstrate that human societies are able to live harmoniously with nature
Conservation International’s mission is to conserve the Earth’s living natural heritage, our global biodiversity, and to
demonstrate that human societies are able to live harmoniously with nature
Conservation International’s mission is to conserve the
Earth’s living natural heritage—our global biodiversity—and to
demonstrate that human societies are able to live harmoniously with nature
Conservation Funding Division
� Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund� Provides grants to civil society to enhance their capacity to conserve
biodiversity� Global Conservation Fund
� Provides grants for the establishment and long-term financing of protected areas
� Verde Ventures � Provides loans for small and medium enterprises which contribute to
conservation of biodiversity� Global Marine Partnership Fund
� Fund in development to provide grants for marine protected areas� Climate Community and Conservation Fund
� Fund in development to provide grants for carbon projects
Our Purpose
Verde Ventures invests in small businesses that contribute to conservation
and communities in Conservation International's global priority areas
Why Verde Ventures?
• Conservation-based employment is essential to provide economic incentives for conservation• The small business sector is a key partner in the intersection between human welfare and conservation• Lack of available, affordable capital to ensure the sustainability of the sector
Core Products
� Loans: US$30,000 to $500,000 (average: $125,000)� Use of Loan funds: Infrastructure, working capital, trade
finance� Typical Deal Structure: Senior or subordinated secured
debt for 3-5 years. Increasingly debt + quasi-equity.� Strategic grants for technical assistance and
environmental and socio-economic monitoring
Fund Overview
Sectors Invested Regions Invested
Mexico
El Salvador
Guatemala
Peru
Bolivia
Costa Rica
Chile
Belize
Ghana
Ecuador
Indonesia
Kenya
Mozambique
Investment Map
Triple Bottom Line Results
Environmental
Direct Hectares Impacted (within project area) 308,009
Indirect Hectares Impacted* 3,031,587
IUCN Red-listed Species Impacted 191
Financial
Fund Costs Covered with Non Grant Revenue for FY08 85%
Sales Generated by Businesses Supported $31,786,841
Leveraged Funding $3 million
Social
Total Direct Beneficiaries 15,125
Total Indirect Beneficiaries** 42,467
Percentage of Female Direct Beneficiaries (of total) 30%*Indirect includes area under the project’s influence, but not direct ownership control
**Immediate family members of direct beneficiaries (direct beneficiaries are project employees)
Governance
• Biodiversity Committee– Internal committee to CI– 3 permanent members and 1 regional staff– Meets about 3-6 times per year
• Investment Committee– External committee – 7 permanent members – Meets quarterly
Invested Project Summaries
Rainforest Expeditions, Peru
• Amount: $360,556 (2 loans)• Sector: Ecotourism• Use of funds: Lodge upgrade• Deal Structure: 2 loans secured
against local collateral. Co-invested with 2 other lenders.
• Impacts: 2 lodges directly protecting 2,500 hectares and providing direct income to 316 local, indigenous people
Ibo Island Mozambique
� Amount: $495,000
� Sector: Tourism
� Use of funds: To renovate and expand its existing lodge in northern Mozambique
� Deal Structure: Invested and secured with collateral for 5 years.
� Impacts: Improved management of National Park (750,000 hectares) through ecotourism led job creation for 40 community members
Rolf Wittmer Turismo, Galapagos
� Amount: $250,000� Sector: Tourism� Use of funds: To finance new certified
boat and hire local fisherman as tour guides
� Deal Structure: Loans secured against local collateral
� Impacts: Benefit the local community by providing an employment alternative to unsustainable fishing in the Galapagos Islands
Coffee Investments
� $10.5 invested in 23 sustainable coffee suppliers (5 countries in Latin America and Asia)
� 100% trade finance secured on contracts (Starbucks etc.)� 95% on-time repayment� Directly benefiting 7,500 small farmers and more than
440,000 hectares of biodiversity-rich forest.
Monitoring
• Financial: Business Performance Measurements• Environmental: Baseline survey + annual site-
relevant indicators for measuring environmental change during the investment period
• Social/Economic: Baseline household/community survey + annual indicators measuring change in socio-economic conditions of project beneficiaries
WH-LEEP
World Heritage Local Ecological Entrepreneurship Program
• New partnership with the United Nations Foundation, the United Nations Development Programme’s Small Grants Programme (SGP)
• Blended capital approach to finance projects located in World Heritage Sites in 7 countries (Belize, Dominica, Kenya, Mexico, Philippines, Tanzania and Madagascar)
• Focus on capacity building for community based enterprises
• UNF financing the grant mechanism for capacity building and a 75% guarantee of VV invested loan capital
Risk Management
• Thorough due diligence and oversight• Use of CI local networks in 40 countries• Invest with other lenders (also reduces costs)• Invest only in US$ and work with companies receiving hard
currency revenues • Repayment terms of not more than 5 years.• At least 1:1 collateral secured under local law• Loan Loss Reserve Requirement averaging 10% of
outstanding capital
Mainstreaming Biodiversity Financing
• Recognition that scalability must occur with commercial banking and private equity sectors.
• Supply: Financing incentives needed to encourage banks to lend to sustainable SMEs.
• Demand: Maturation of specific sectors to become bankable- partially through help of boutique, blended (loan/grant) capital and technical assistance.
Key Lessons
• Investment capital in the US$30,000 to $500,000 range can be effectively used to achieve conservation, social and financial returns.
• Strategic use of grant funds with investment capital can greatly enhance project’s success.
• Direct financial incentives (eg. interest rate reductions) should be used to further improve conservation returns on investment.
• Triple-bottom line (environmental, social and financial) monitoring is crucial, yet expensive.
• Guarantee funding is crucial for early stage SMEs in developing markets
The Road Ahead
• Raise at least $10 million in loan capital within the next 5 years.
• Raise at least $1.2 million in additional grant funding for capacity building and monitoring program.
• Directly impacting 6 million hectares of key biodiversity landscape on 3 continents
• Supporting business which employ 30,000 local people with few other opportunities
• Demonstrating and replicating triple-bottom line success model (self-sufficient in 3 yrs)
• Replicate Monitoring program
Thank You!
For more information, please visit:
www.conservation.org/verdeventures