eco.business Fund makes direct investment in sustainable business in Latin America

eco.business Fund makes direct investment in sustainable business in Latin America

The eco.business Fund has provided a corporate loan to a sustainably certified company to promote responsible production practices in Latin America. A loan of USD 15 million to Industrial Pesquera Santa Priscila, the largest shrimp producer in Ecuador, will be used to implement measures that further reduce the company’s environmental footprint and resource use, as well as support sustainable production. By thus safeguarding the surrounding ecosystem, the partners aim to preserve biodiversity whilst contributing to sustainability in the aquaculture industry, one of the eco.business Fund’s target sectors. 

Shrimp is a valuable product in Latin America, with the second-highest export value in the aquaculture market. As output is currently increasing at twice the rate of the growth of the global aquaculture industry, environmentally responsible production practices that reduce pressure on ecosystems and resources present a solution to support this growth in a sustainable manner. 

Santa Priscila was established in 1976 when the Ecuadorian shrimp industry was just beginning to develop, and currently exports over 100,000 tons of shrimp per year. The company has endeavored to promote responsible practices within its production processes for over two decades, protecting and preserving the surrounding mangrove ecosystems, and its biodiversity. Their commitment to sustainability is evidenced by their various certifications, including  “Best Aquaculture Practices.” The eco.business Fund investment will enable the company to immediately expand on these efforts: Measures to be funded include obtaining electric engines to pump water, aerators, and feeders, replacing those reliant on diesel. This will improve the company’s efficiency and environmental performance by reducing feedstock consumption and dependence on fossil fuels and thus minimizing Santa Priscila’s environmental footprint. In addition, the fund will collaborate with the company to strengthen their Environmental and Social Management System in order to systematically assess and mitigate environmental and social risks.

Dr. Jens Mackensen, Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the eco.business Fund, stated: “The eco.business Fund has been promoting green practices in Latin America since 2014 by investing in the financial infrastructure that supports sustainable businesses. Now, we are proud to be providing our first corporate loan into an established and leading producer such as Santa Priscila, a regional champion committed to sustainability. With this transaction, we aim to further the fund’s transformational impact to create long-term positive environmental change.” 

Mr. Santiago Salem Kronfle, Santa Priscila’s founder and President, stated: “For Santa Priscila, sustainability is the result of responsibility: We have developed socially and environmentally responsible projects for more than 45 years, creating jobs and opportunities while conserving and securing healthy food for our planet. We appreciate and thank the eco.business Fund for their confidence in supporting and promoting our projects.”


About the eco.business Fund

The eco.business Fund aims to promote business and consumption practices that contribute to biodiversity conservation, to the sustainable use of natural resources, and to mitigate climate change and adapt to its impacts in Latin America, the Caribbean, and sub-Saharan Africa. By providing financing for business practices that conserve nature and foster biodiversity, the fund seeks investments with both environmental and financial returns. The eco.business Fund provides financing through three avenues: local financial institutions that are committed to the fund’s mission and which have the capacity to reach its target group; directly to its target group (i.e. companies and producers); and in the case of sub-Saharan Africa, to real sector intermediaries. The fund supports sustainable operations in the sectors of agriculture, fishery (including aquaculture), forestry and tourism. Target beneficiaries are those that hold an eligible sustainability certification or those taking out a loan to make eligible sustainable investments in their operations

An impact investment fund advised by Finance in Motion, the eco.business Fund was initiated by Germany’s KfW Development Bank and Conservation International with financial support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The sub-fund for Latin America and the Caribbean has received further support from the European Commission. The sub-fund’s additional investor base comprises IDB Invest, a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, the U.K. government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Dutch development bank FMO, Austrian development bank OeEB, and institutional investors such as sustainable banking institution ASN Bank, German ethical bank GLS Bank, Calvert Impact Capital, and Raiffeisen Bank International. Finance in Motion, a leading impact investing company, is also an investor.

Operating together with each of the two sub-funds, are two development facilities that provide high-impact technical assistance to investment partners and final borrowers.

For more information please visit www.ecobusiness.fund and follow us on Twitter @ecobusinessfund.

About Santa Priscila

Industrial Pesquera Santa Priscila S.A. has been producing and exporting shrimp (Litopenaeus Vannamei) since 1976. The company farms more than 100,000 tons of shrimp in their ponds which is exported to China, Europe, United States, Latin America and Asia every year. Santa Priscila is a fully integrated company, which has over 15,000 hectares of farms (ponds), six laboratories for the larvae production, feed plant and two processing plants. 

The company specialize in producing and providing IQF head-on-shrimps, cooking quality, fresh frozen in brine in seven minutes, or block frozen.

Besides producing shrimp, Industrial Pesquera Santa Priscila also produces Tilapia (Oreochromis Niloticus) fresh and frozen.

Media contact eco.business Fund
Merle Römer
Manager, Marketing & Communications
Email: press@ecobusiness.fund
Phone: +49 (0)69 / 271 035-171 

Media contact Santa Priscila
Raul Estrada
Email: raul.estrada@santa-priscila.com 
Phone: +593 4 232 3285
 

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