The European Union recognises soil as a significant carbon sink and the agricultural industry as crucial to achieving the goal of climate neutrality by 2050. However, European farmers need of external funding to expand their operations and shift to regenerative agriculture.
Lithuania-based HeavyFinance, a climate tech firm provides sustainable finance and investment solutions for agriculture. It aims to remove 0.376 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year for every €1,000 invested, aligning with the European Investment Fund’s Climate Action and Environmental Sustainability guidelines.
Fund for decarbonisation of agriculture
Recently, HeavyFinance closed a new €50 million fund designed to help farming businesses, including agtech startups decarbonise, and shift to regenerative agriculture. European Investment Fund (EIF) that backed Blume and GapMinder has committed €20 million to the fund and will help attract additional investors. It also saw the support of the InvestEU, an EU programme to mobilise at least €372 billion for European policy priorities by 2027.
The funding will be available to finance solutions to advance the decarbonisation of agriculture in Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Portugal. The fund will provide mid-term debt capital for small and medium-sized agricultural companies to support them in their efforts to reduce their carbon footprint through greener practices. These include alternative soil-friendly techniques that sequester carbon and improve soil health.
Promotes green agricultural practices
In 2020, Laimonas Noreika, Darius Verseckas and Andrius Liukaitis co-founded HeavyFinance in Vilnius, Lithuania. It is a marketplace, where investors and businesses dependent on the use of heavy equipment meet. The investment opportunities provided by the HeavyFinance platform are always backed by heavy equipment as collateral.
It produces verified agricultural carbon credits, while providing additional financial benefits to farmers in their transition towards more sustainable soil management practices.
The company offers fixed interest green loans for carbon farming. Investors in green loans make money from nature-based carbon credits generated on the farm by applying regenerative agriculture. The company also provides agricultural business loans.
“HeavyFinance is empowering European farmers to cultivate a more sustainable future,” said EIF Chief Executive Marjut Falkstedt. “With the support of the EIF and InvestEU, we are nurturing the growth of regenerative agriculture, contributing to decarbonisation, unlocking the potential of our land and fostering a more resilient planet.”
“Farmers are facing unprecedented challenges due to climate change, but they are also at the forefront of finding innovative nature-based solutions,” said HeavyFinance Chief Executive Officer and founder Laimonas Noreika, “This fund represents a crucial step in HeavyFinance’s commitment to eliminating one gigaton of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by 2050.”
Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, said, “Small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of Europe’s economy. They are simultaneously affected by climate change and play a vital role in addressing it. Thanks to the InvestEU programme, we will provide SMEs active in agriculture with the finance they need to work towards decarbonisation. The support will help them for instance to upgrade their equipment and expand working capital.”
