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The capital investment firm Demeter has already secured almost 70% of a new fund dedicated to the emergence of the agricultural model of tomorrow and the protection of biodiversity.
Excellent news for the wine-growing industry. Demeter, the European investment leader in the transition to more environmentally friendly energy sources and means of production, has just announced the first closing of VitiRev Innovation. This new fund is specifically intended for financing innovative European companies in the wine sector. Its objective is to support and speed up the development of effective solutions for sustainable production, working with the industry in its needs to adapt to climate change, and ultimately meet the new consumer demands both in terms of quality and transparency with the production process. Demeter is fully aware that developing the viticulture of tomorrow will first involve protecting biodiversity. VitiRev Innovation could therefore become an essential tool through promoting the creation of alternatives to crop protection agents in the first instance.
Fifteen or so projects
The VitiRev Innovation fund stems from a joint initiative between the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regional Council and the French Regional Development Bank, the project managers appointed at the local level by the State as part of the future investment programme, ‘Areas for Innovation’. As such, VitiRev Innovation is financially supported by institutional investors (especially regional funds within large French banks), manufacturers, entrepreneurs, family offices, or wine producers such as the Baron de Rothschild wine estates, Château Paloumey, Château Sainte-Roseline and the Clément Fayat vineyards. If Demeter is ultimately aiming to raise a total amount of 50 million Euros to finance VitiRev Innovation, 33 million euros – almost 70% of the target – has already been secured at the time of this initial closing being announced. Eventually, fifteen or so innovative companies will be supported by the VitiRev Innovation investment fund in France and Europe.
Towards a greener economy
A major capital investment stakeholder in the green economy with currently over one billion Euros in assets being managed, Demeter supports companies at all stages of their development, whether it’s an innovative start-up, an SME or mid-cap (medium-sized company) undergoing strong growth, or even an infrastructure project.
For more than fifteen years, the investment fund has created the leaders of the ecological transition of tomorrow as part of an approach which seeks to be both responsible and committed. Demeter is also a stakeholder in several international initiatives such as the PRI (Principles for Responsible Investment), CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project), iC20, or The Shift Project, the think-tank from the highly popular media personality Jean-Marc Jancovici.