SITAWI Finanças do Bem, a member of the PPA, promoted a round of collective lending in March, focused on five of the businesses participating in this year's Acceleration Program. The big surprise is that reservations were sold out in less than 24 hours. In total, the round contributes to mobilizing R$ 3.2 million, of which around 30% were mobilized through the platform and come from SITAWI itself and individuals interested in redefining their investments and supporting businesses that are transforming society.
The collective loan platform is an initiative of SITAWI and the Sabin Institute. USAID (United States Agency for International Development), CIAT (International Center for Tropical Agriculture), Instituto Humanize, and Idesam (Institute for Conservation and Sustainable Development of the Amazon).
The quick support from investors through the platform exceeded organizers' expectations: “The enormous interest in participating in this collective lending round focused on positive impact in the Amazon was surprising and surpassed our expectations. The success of this round, achieved in record time, shows that there is a retracted demand for impact investing in Brazil, especially from small investors. It also reinforces our understanding that good projects manage to gain funds to enable and leverage their operations”, says Andrea Resende, Social Finance Manager at SITAWI.
The five businesses participating in this round are: COEX Carajás, a cooperative from Parauapebas (PA) whose mission is to generate income and recover forests through sustainable extraction and sale of forest products; In Floresta/Na'kau, in Manaus (AM), which manufactures chocolate from the sustainable production of cocoa by agro-extractivist riverside communities; OKA, from Ananindeua (PA), which produces juices with native Amazonian fruits; Pratika Engenharia, from Manaus (AM), which sells and installs affordable solar panels for isolated quilombola communities in the Calha Norte of the State of Pará; and Tucum Brasil, headquartered in Rio de Janeiro (RJ) and nationwide in promoting the art of the country's indigenous and traditional populations, generating cultural value and income for their communities.
Investors will get the money back for two years, with the payment of monthly installments of principal plus interest, equivalent to an expected return of 12% per year. In addition to having an attractive rate in times of low interest, the investment provides a positive impact, in line with forest conservation. For entrepreneurs, the platform is also an advantageous option, as it allows for better interest rates in relation to the market.
“We are very happy to have SITAWI as a partner and investor, implementing the collective loan round for the PPA Business Call in 2020. This brings a diversity of investors that, more than contributing resources, will disseminate how viable and attractive they can be businesses with impact in the Amazon”, assesses Mariano Cenamo, coordinator of the Acceleration Program at PPA and director of new businesses at Idesam.
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