CI Ventures, LLC

Fill the financing gap

Many conservation-conscious enterprises describe challenges in raising risk-tolerant capital and securing technical and other resources needed to demonstrate performance and meet investor expectations. CI Ventures provides capital and other resources to enhance “investment readiness” and enable larger additional investment.

Focus on impact first

Designed to leverage scarce public and philanthropic resources, CI Ventures’ investments will emphasize projects that have the potential for greatest impact in critical landscapes and seascapes in Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Kenya, South Africa, Indonesia and the Philippines. CI Ventures uses proprietary impact screening and monitoring and evaluation tools that assess impact throughout the investment lifecycle.

Types of Investments

CI Ventures invests in startup and growth-stage enterprises seeking financing to support:

• Investment readiness: Targeted, relatively short-term interventions and investment to improve readiness to mobilize larger follow-on financing (e.g., improved financial control systems, export and/or market certification, third-party audit of impacts)
• Growth capital: Investments in companies with mature business models that seek capital to expand or restructure operations or enter new markets (e.g, working capital lines, capital expenditures)
• Novel approaches: Innovative technologies, proof-of-concept and market-based approaches that disrupt or replace existing unsustainable production models

Eligibility

To be eligible for financing from CI Ventures, enterprises must demonstrate:

• A viable business model
• Potential for significant, measurable environmental and social impacts (e.g., biodiversity conservation, restoration of natural resources, jobs created, etc.)
• Potential to unlock future additional investment at scale
• Strong management capacity
• Alignment with Conservation International’s mission and values