The Nature+ blended finance fund aims to address a critical gap in early-stage venture support for regenerative businesses that need to scale. The fund is a collaboration between International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Mirova Natural Capital and the Coalition of Private Investment in Conservation (CPIC). The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is an anchor investor in the fund, providing $8 million for first loss investor protection.
The fund - planned for launch in early 2021 - will invest in nature-based solutions including:
Marine, coastal resilience and fisheries
Forest protection and sustainable management
Forest landscape restoration (including agroforestry)
Sustainable agriculture
Freshwater and green natural infrastructure projects
Investees will be selected for their impact on biodiversity, improvement to sustainable land use in production systems, equitable socio-economic impact on local communities, innovativeness, additionality, scalability and replicability, contribution to gender equality and management of environmental and social risk.
The Nature+ Accelerator fund will deploy grants, debt and equity through three windows:
Seed: $5 million in repayable grants or convertible notes (approx. $100,000 per 50 projects)
Early Venture: $15 million in debt and equity (approx. $1 million per 15 projects)
Venture: $20 million in debt and equity (approx. $5 million in 4 projects).
The fund expects to screen a minimum of 500 opportunities and source the pipeline through an open application process. By 2030, the fund aims to support 70 investment deals through all fund windows, creating measurable social, climate and land use impacts.68
68 ‘Nature+ Accelerator Fund’. 2020. IUCN. 23 October 2020. https://www.iucn.org/theme/nature-based-solutions/initiatives/nature-accelerator-fund.