Koa closes $15m Series B round to scale up cocoa upcycling
Summary
Working closely with cocoa smallholders in Ghana, Koa reduces on-farm food waste, and generates additional farmer income while at the same time bringing unique new ingredients to the food and beverage industry.The Series B round comes at a critical time for Koa as the company recently inaugurated its new factory located in Akim Achiase in the Eastern Region of Ghana. With this new facility, Koa has set the foundation to increase its production output tenfold while cooperating with an additional 10,000 cocoa farmers.The round is led by the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) Fund from global asset manager Mirova, an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers dedicated to sustainable finance, with a US$ 9 million investment. "We are proud to have closed our Series B round in this challenging market environment for start-up funding while at the same time having found once more like-minded investors that are fully aligned with our mission and ambition to expand and create more impact around the cocoa fruit," says Fabien Nizard, Head of Corporate Finance and Investor Relations at Koa Switzerland AG.Gautier Queru, Managing Director of Natural Capital at Mirova, comments: "We are happy to support Koas development, in line with the LDN Funds ambition, to support the development of a sustainable and fair economy in emerging countries where investment needs are huge and the economic potential attractive. Koa definitely contributes to transforming the cocoa value chain to reduce food waste and provide local producers with additional income. "The equity financing provides Koa with the funding required to scale its operations, develop more cocoa fruit products, and expand its marketing and distribution activities.