In Sitawi’s 12th Investment Round, funds will be allocated to two cooperatives in Pará, in the Amazon region: CCampo Alimentos, which is strengthening family farming and selling high-quality local products across the state; and Sementes do Marajó, a prominent açaí berry harvesting cooperative, which raised capital in a previous round. You can lend money and support Amazonian businesses!
Sitawi Finanças do Bem, a non-governmental organization that is working to redefine the role of capital through crowdfunding, has launched two new impact investments on the Sitawi Platform. Two cooperatives that operate in the Amazon Rainforest are raising resources and you can invest R$10,000 or more, earning an annual return of 14%.
This new funding round is supported by a strategic partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Partners for the Amazon Platform, Fundo Vale and the Climate and Land Use Alliance (CLUA).
As of May, the two cooperatives, called Sementes do Marajó and CCampo Alimentos, will be able to receive up to R$610,000 in total to help them grow. In return, lenders will receive 14% per year. This is in addition to the more than R$27.5 million already distributed by Sitawi to over 60 organizations, provided by around 700 investors, since 2008.
Learn about these organizations:
Sementes do Marajó
This cooperative harvests and sells açaí berries in the Marajó Island region, strengthening the local community. It will pay back the loan in 12 months.
In this funding round, Sementes do Marajó hopes to raise R$450,000 to buy açaí from its members in the 2023 harvest and to open another grocery store before the end of this year, in addition to the two it already has. By 2025, it plans to have 10 grocery stores, selling foodstuffs at more affordable prices in the region’s remote communities. The cooperative has also started to plant bananas in order to diversify its business.
The cooperative operates on Marajó Island, one of the poorest places in the state of Pará. So far, it has boosted the income of its member extractive producers by more than 10%.
CCampo
This cooperative, also located in the state of Pará, is strengthening family farming, generating income for 476 families, using more than 500 hectares of land in a sustainable way.
Founded in 2009, this cooperative stands out for its strong organization among its family producers and coordinated distribution of its regional and organic products, such as fruit pulp and cassava flour, to end consumers. It manages more than 506 hectares in a sustainable way, generating income for rural farmers.
It is now in the final stage of installing its own solar energy system, which will meet all its power demand to operate its fruit pulp processing plant. The cooperative helps protect and promote the forest, in an agricultural frontier region with the largest deforested area in the country, teaching its members to take care of the land and produce without the need for deforestation.
It aims to raise R$160,000 to increase the production capacity of family farmers and ensure that they have enough inputs between harvests.
Rethinking the role of capital and prioritizing positive impacts, Sitawi offers entrepreneurs better interest and payment conditions, compared to the traditional market (banks and finance companies). The organization also provides technical and consulting support throughout loan terms, which is another distinctive advantage.
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