The Swiss-Ghanaian start-up Koa announces the completion of its Series B equity round, raising a total of US$ 15 million from both existing and new investors. The round is led by the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) Fund from global asset manager Mirova, an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers dedicated to sustainable finance, with a US$ 9 million investment. With a mandate to finance SMEs that can scale sustainable land management practices in areas of high land degradation risk, the LDN fund is a strong partner for Koa to accelerate its mission of transforming the cocoa industry into a supply chain fit for the 21st century.
Among the new investors is also the Regenerative Growth Fund 1, a new SFDR 9 fund managed by the Venture Capital team at Zebra Impact and the Swiss bank Mirabaud, which aims to invest in naturetech solutions to tackle today’s challenges around nature loss and climate change. The round is completed by contributions from other new investors and the support of Koa’s existing shareholders, including Haltra which led Koa’s Series A equity round in 2021. “We are proud to have closed our Series B round in this challenging market environment for start-up funding while at the same time having found once more like-minded investors that are fully aligned with our mission and ambition to expand and create more impact around the cocoa fruit,” says Fabien Nizard, Head of Corporate Finance and Investor Relations at Koa Switzerland AG.
Founded in 2017, Koa is transforming the cocoa industry through its innovative upcycling of the cocoa fruit. Koa is the first company in West Africa to have unlocked a new value chain around the so far discarded cocoa pulp. Working closely with cocoa smallholders in Ghana, Koa reduces on-farm food waste, and generates additional farmer income while at the same time bringing unique new ingredients to the food and beverage industry.
Gautier Queru, Managing Director of Natural Capital at Mirova, comments: “We are happy to support Koa’s development, in line with the LDN Fund’s ambition, to support the development of a sustainable and fair economy in emerging countries where investment needs are huge and the economic potential attractive. Koa definitely contributes to transforming the cocoa value chain to reduce food waste and provide local producers with additional income.”
