Pymwymic is proud to announce three major institutional investors – Invest-NL, Oost NL and Invest International – will be joining its Healthy Food Systems Impact Fund II to support the change makers who are transforming the food system for a better world. The joint investment of €20m brings the fund to its second close of €48m; it is expected to reach a final close of €60m later this year. Pymwymic looks forward to working with these mission-aligned investors to catalyse more capital towards impact.
Our current food system is both the single biggest driver of climate change, environmental degradation and biodiversity loss. It is responsible for a third of global greenhouse gas emissions, 80% of deforestation and 70% of all freshwater use. Pymwymic believes that a combination of innovative and disruptive technologies with truly regenerative practices will ignite a transition of the global food system. Invest-NL, Oost NL and Invest International are convinced that innovative start- and scale-ups from the Netherlands will play an important role in solving these challenges, both in the Netherlands and globally. That’s why they’re teaming together with Pymwymic in this new fund.
Nicolaas Heij, Invest-NL Senior Investment Manager: “Pymwymic has shown it can contribute substantially to making the food chain more sustainable. By providing capital for early phase investments in the Dutch AgriFood sector they align with our investment strategy to speed up the transition towards a carbon neutral and circular economy.”
Chimwemwe de Gaay Fortman, Oost NL Director Capital: “Pymwymic’s fund aligns with the mission of Oost NL and by investing, we attract capital and knowledge to our region. This way, innovative food companies can accelerate their development to contribute to a sustainable and healthy food chain. Pymwymic’s recent investment alongside Oost NL in OneThird is a great example of this.”
Eelco Benink, Invest International Head of Equity: "Making the agricultural food system more sustainable and nature inclusive is one of the main goals of Invest International’s AgriFood strategy. Investing in Pymwymic helps drive important change in the food system, also in emerging markets where this is needed most. An excellent example of Dutch Solutions for Global Challenges.”
The Healthy Food Systems Impact Fund II is expected to amount to €60m, and will invest in AgriFood start-ups that use innovative technologies to contribute to making the food chain more sustainable. Potential investments include new ways to improve sustainable and local farming, digital platforms supporting a more efficient and shorter supply chain or data-driven production methods ensuring a better soil quality.
Rogier Pieterse, Pymwymic Managing Partner: “We are very proud of the confidence these three major investors have expressed in Pymwymic; their investment makes it possible for us to realise our mission to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable food system.”
Cooperation between Invest International and ROMs
The investment in Pymwimic is a good example of how Invest International and the Regional Development Agencies (ROMs), such as Oost NL, work together. Previously, these parties joined forces in the International Trade Facility. The International Trade Facility is intended for innovative Dutch companies that want to grow internationally and contribute to realizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Invest International and the ROMs can jointly finance or support these companies in accessing the right (financing) instruments from the ROMs, Invest International, banks, RVO and Atradius, among others.
