Story 04 Nov, 2020

Nature+ Accelerator Fund ready for investors

IUCN and partners launch novel fund to drive investment to nature-based solutions

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Photo: IUCN

The Nature+ Accelerator Fund is a first-of-its-kind private sector-focused nature conservation fund providing measurable conservation and social benefits while delivering financial returns for investors.

See full press release


Join us for today's launch event and conservation finance discussion at 16:00 CET
Register here

IUCN and partners have the pleasure of introducing you to a new and unique conservation accelerator fund, intended to create a scalable pipeline of investments rooted in nature-based solutions. Learn how the Nature+ Accelerator Fund marries conservation with social benefits while generating returns, and effectively supporting a new natural capital asset class.

Joining IUCN’s panel to discuss the Accelerator's role in conservation finance are the Global Environment Facility (GEF) who support the Accelerator as an anchor investor, Mirova who structure and operate the Accelerator, and the Coalition for Private Investment in Conservation (CPIC) who provide investment blueprints.


The Accelerator in a nutshell

With the GEF as an anchor investor, the Nature+ Accelerator Fund has already secured US$ 8 million in risk-tolerant financing. The commercially-operated fund, which will be managed by asset management company Mirova, aims to raise further investment to create a US$ 200 million portfolio of projects ranging from the seed investment phase through to the sustainable growth phase.

The Accelerator concentrates in the following areas: Marine conservation and coastal resilience; smallholder production systems and sustainable agriculture; ecosystem conservation and restoration; and innovation in services, finance and technology.

The Accelerator is offering investment money to early stage pilots and project ideas, impact enterprises with high potential for scalability, complemented by technical assistance and capacity building in three complementary investment windows: Seed, Early Venture (together defined as  the incubation period) and Venture windows.

“There is a growing case for why investing in nature should be a viable proposition for the private sector. The Nature+ Accelerator Fund is designed to create a sizable pipeline of attractive nature-based investment deals to be offered on the market. The fund will accelerate the growth of mature and near-mature investment plans in nature-based solutions and help prepare them to access commercial financing”, said Stewart Maginnis, IUCN Global Director Nature-based Solutions Group. "This fund, operated by Mirova, is supported by a mix of private and public funding with the ambition of growing a US$ 200M portfolio.”

The Accelerator is now ready to accept commitments from public and private professional investors.

Lean more about the Nature+ Accelerator Fund