The Swiss impact asset manager made its first climate infrastructure investment in Latin America and also provided funding to one of Southeast Asia’s leading fruit processing and export companies.
ResponsAbility has made its first climate infrastructure investment in Latin America with a $56m (€47.8m) commitment to a wind farm project in a remote part in southern Chile, and has also funded an agribusiness in Vietnam to boost its sustainable fruit processing capacity.
The commitment in Chile falls under its climate infrastructure strategy, which supports climate transition solutions across emerging markets.
Although the Chilean government is targeting carbon neutrality by 2050, with the use of wind and solar energy, some of its more remote regions are still struggling with grid congestion and regional supply imbalances.
ResponsAbility’s investment in the Cancura wind project in the region of Araucanía will help support this transition, the Swiss impact investor said. Cancura is expected to generate around 20% of total output of the country’s wind market, which is enough to supply more than 16,000 people with power and avoid over 46,000 tons of CO₂ emissions per year.
“Cancura is a landmark transaction for responsAbility. It combines a high-impact renewable energy project with strong structural safeguards. We are proud to partner with an experienced sponsor, a reputable syndicate of lenders and best-in-class contractors to deliver clean energy in Chile,” said Antonia Schäli, its deputy head climate infrastructure investments.
Regional growth
Other international lenders who backed the 36 megawatt Cancura project include Panamaian development financier CIFI, Dutch sustainable bank Triodos and BICSA, a regional commercial bank from Costa Rica.
“Latin America combines abundant renewable resources with ambitious decarbonisation targets and a growing need for private sector capital to scale the energy transition. Building on Cancura, we see strong potential to expand similar low-carbon solutions in the region over time,” Richard Rogers, a spokesman for responsAbility, told Impact Investor.
As of the end of June, responsAbility managed $5.4bn in assets across three investment themes. This includes $2.5bn in financial inclusion, $1.1bn in climate finance and $700m in sustainable food, according to Rogers. ResponsAbility also manages $1.1bn in tailor-made investment solutions for institutional clients.
Vietnam investment
Separately, responsAbility announced it has provided Vietnamese agribusiness Nafoods Group JSC with financing to boost its sustainable fruit processing capacity. The funding falls under responsAbility’s sustainable food strategy, which aims to boost the livelihoods of farmers and promote green farming practices. The firm declined to give financial details on individual ticket sizes.
The investment in Nafoods is part of responsAbility’s climate-smart agriculture and food systems strategy, which supports companies that advance sustainable and resilient food systems in emerging markets, according to Rogers.
“With this financing, we are supporting a company that is contributing to food security, climate protection, and local economic resilience through innovative fruit processing, sustainable agricultural practices, and deep engagement with smallholder farmers. These are precisely the types of solutions we target with our investment strategy,” said Simon Hummel, co-team head of sustainable food debt sub-Saharan Africa at responsAbility.
Value chain
Nafoods Group operates across the entire fruit value chain, and works closely with local smallholder farmers. It exports fully traceable and sustainable products including juices, concentrates, dried and fresh fruits to more than 70 countries.
“This investment is an important source of additional capital, enabling us to be more proactive in capturing business opportunities and implementing the group’s medium- to long-term growth strategy,” said Nguyen Manh Hung, CEO of Nafoods Group.
He went on to say that the partnership with responsAbility will not only create long-term value for Nafoods’ shareholders but also for its customers, farmers and communities.
