Supporters

Investors

Reliable funding sources are essential to the success of Verde Ventures. Verde Ventures receives funding from the following organizations:

L’Agence Française de Développement (AFD) is lending Verde Ventures $3.5 million to be used in supporting small and medium enterprises that work towards sustainable economic development while, at the same time, protecting biodiversity for future generations .  This is the first loan that the French Development Agency has ever given to a non-governmental organization.

For more information about l'AFD, visit www.afd.fr

Fonds Français pour l'Environnement Mondial (FFEM) in partnership with AFD, is contributing to and supporting VV’s growth to replicate its successful model in other critical habitats for biodiversity, giving special priority to Africa. FFEM's contribution will support the business expansion into Africa, through the provision of grants for (i) technical assistance to African SMEs seeking to carry out feasibility studies and strengthening their capacity before they are ready to borrow and (ii) impact assessment on the "triple bottom line" (environmental, sociological and economic) of the SME’s, once the loan is contracted by VV.

For more information about FFEM, visit www.ffem.fr

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) invested $1 million through the International Finance Corporation's Small and Medium Enterprise Program. This was the seed funding used by Conservation International (CI) to launch the predecessor to what is now Verde Ventures.

For more information about the GEF, visit www.thegef.org.

The International Finance Corporation’s Environmental Business Finance Program (EBFP) loaned Verde Ventures $750,000 to be invested in small and medium conservation-oriented enterprises involved in agroforestry, ecotourism and sustainable agriculture. The EBFP also contributed $175,000 in grant funding to launch our site-based biodiversity and socioeconomic monitoring program.

For more information about the IFC, visit www.ifc.org. 

The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) provided Verde Ventures with a $2.5-million credit line to invest in small businesses in CI priority areas that directly support CI’s mission. Verde Ventures used OPIC funding to directly invest in projects that meet the Verde Ventures’ environmental, social and financial return criteria.

For more information about OPIC, visit www.opic.gov.

Starbucks Coffee Company (Nasdaq: SBUX) has provided Verde Ventures with a $4.5 million loan to give small-scale coffee and cocoa producers direct access to affordable credit. Starbucks’ support is the largest loan commitment of its kind provided by a specialty coffee company and is part of a long-standing partnership between Conservation International and Starbucks.

With Verde Ventures, Starbucks and CI are taking on a leadership role in the coffee industry to address some of the financial challenges facing small-scale coffee producers. Verde Ventures uses Starbucks’ financing to offer pre- and post-harvest loans and capital improvement financing to coffee and cocoa producers. Starbucks has also provided CI with grant funding to support CI’s work with coffee producers.

For more information on Starbucks, visit www.starbucks.com.

Other Supporters

Verde Ventures depends on the invaluable support of several law firms. Verde Ventures would like to thank the following law firms for their pro-bono legal assistance, which has been tremendously helpful in enabling Verde Ventures to achieve its environmental and social objectives:

Barrera, Siqueiros y Torres Landa, S.C.
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
Sidley Austin Brown & Wood LLP
White & Case LLP

In addition, Verde Ventures would like to thank the team at Salesforce.com for their support in the donation of their customer relationship management product. This product has enabled us manage our porfolio and client relationships effectively.

How You Can Help

If you are interested in learning more about how you can support Verde Ventures,  contact us at verdeventures@conservation.org.