Fundo Vale sponsors second FIINSA event, held in Manaus, to discuss and promote sustainable businesses in the Amazon.

Fundo Vale was one of the sponsors of the second edition of the Amazon Impact Investing and Sustainable Business Festival (FIINSA), held in Manaus, state capital of Amazonas, on November 29 and 30, 2022. The event was organized by the Amazon Conservation and Sustainable Development Institute (IDESAM), Amazon Impact Accelerator (AMAZ) and Impact Hub Manaus. Entrepreneurs, investors, civil society organizations and other stakeholders that make up the region’s impact ecosystem came together to discuss paths, opportunities and challenges for the development of the Amazon impact ecosystem, the bioeconomy and the future of the planet’s largest tropical forest.

In all, 62% of the participants were from Manaus and 38% were from other locations, most notably São Paulo (11%), followed by Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, Belém, Florianópolis and Rio Branco. Over the course of two days, there were 29 panel discussions featuring 134 speakers and four workshops. In addition, the exhibiting businesses sold approximately R$60,000 worth of goods.

The event looked at topics such as access to capital, traditional communities, entrepreneurship, research, development and innovation. The activities included thematic workshops, project launches, pitch sessions, a market selling sustainable products from the Amazon and an exhibition featuring partners such as Amazon at Home, Intact Forest, an initiative run by Climate Ventures in partnership with IDESAM, which seeks to facilitate logistics and boost sales of the Amazon’s social and biological diversity products.

During the event, the Amazon Impact Accelerator (AMAZ) presented the five businesses in which it will invest in 2023: Cumbaru, Ekilibre, Impacta Finance, Manawara and Mazô Maná. Four are based in the Amazon region and the fifth is located in São Paulo. There were pitches by finalist companies, which operate in different areas, such as the restoration of degraded pasture land through agro-silvopastoral systems, the management of social and biological diversity products, the manufacture of natural vegan cosmetics, the production of vegan functional foods and candies using Amazonian raw materials, decentralized finance and Web 3.0 solutions for impact businesses. To find out more about this project, which is supported by Fundo Vale, read our full article, “From cosmetics to cryptocurrency, Amazon impact startups accelerated by AMAZ.”

Fundo Vale at FIINSA

Possible ways forward: options to build a new economy: Vale’s nature-based solutions manager, Patrícia Daros, took part in a panel discussion called “Possible ways forward: options to build a new economy.” The moderator was Virgilio Viana of the Sustainable Amazon Foundation and the other panelists were Rita Mesquita of the National Amazon Research Institute (INPA) and Gustavo Pinheiro of the Health and Sustainability Institute. Daros said that “the bioeconomy’s potential may make the Amazon a major world player, valuing its forests and peoples.”

Beyond the numbers: How to value social and environmental impacts: Juliana Vilhena, Fundo Vale’s social and environmental impact and innovation management leader, took part in a panel discussion called “Beyond the numbers: How to value social and environmental impacts.” Together with the moderator, José Mattos of Cooperation for the Amazon and fellow panelists Yurik Ostroski of SenseLab and Greta Salvi of the Latimpacto Network, she discussed different measurement report formats already applied and validated at Fundo Vale. She said that impact measurement is a major challenge in the social and environmental area, but some tools and methodologies have been developed to fill this gap. “Fundo Vale developed its impact management and monitoring system, GIMPACT, after studying global references such as the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) and the catalog of metrics listed in its IRIS+ system, as well as the impact dimensions and asset classes presented by the Impact Management Project (IMP). We also examined the UN Sustainable Development Goals. It was rewarding to participate again in FIINSA and especially to be able to share experiences on practices, challenges and advances in impact measurement, considering the reality of impact businesses in the Amazon,” she said.

Forest and Climate Fund booth: KPTL, which created the Forest and Climate Fund in partnership with Fundo Vale, was also present at FIINSA. It had a booth dedicated to this impact venture capital fund, which is designed to break down obstacles to forest restoration and the progress of regenerative agriculture. The first startup in the fund’s portfolio is Ages Bioactive, a company in the Amazon that is developing health supplements using bioactive compounds from the Amazon Rainforest, such as the fruits of the urucum and camu-camu shrubs. The fund will invest R$8 million in this business.

Pan-Amazonian solutions and investments: During the event, we supported an activity led by Latimpacto in which Pan-Amazonian impact funds and institutions shared their knowledge and explored synergies to be gained from collaboration, especially with regard to the bioeconomy. The participants went on a field visit organized by the Sustainable Amazon Foundation to see the reality experienced by riverside dwellers in the Brazilian Amazon close up. “Fundo Vale has always encouraged the sharing of experiences and knowledge, seeking to strengthen ecosystems and collaborative action. Complex problems demand diverse and integrated solutions,” said Márcia Soares, Fundo Vale’s partnerships and networks leader.

About the festival

FIINSA aims to be a meeting point for impact investing and the development of sustainable businesses in the Amazon. It is already the biggest event in the sector in the region.

In the 2022 edition, there were thematic workshops, project launches, pitch sessions, a trade show, a market selling sustainable products from the Amazon, funding round sessions and an exhibition featuring partners’ booths. There were also five “interactive pathways”:

• Structuring the ecosystem;
• Funding and access to capital;
• Research, development and innovation;
• Communities;
• Entrepreneurship challenges.
   

Discover some of the initiatives that supported and attended the Amazon Impact Investing and Sustainable Business Festival (FIINSA):