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MEASURING THE PULSE OF THE AMAZON BIOECONOMY AND GLOBAL INVESTMENT APPETITE

December 6th, 2022 at 12:30pm ET

Amazon bioeconomic development is trending. What is the latest evidence and research available to guide our understanding about this moment of increased financial awareness and appetite in the rainforest bioeconomy? Hear from the latest researchers collecting data on the bioeconomy pipeline, commercially viable products, global appetites, and the financial innovations that are helping this “greenfield” opportunity get scale. Which nature-positive Amazonian industries are succeeding in attracting global investment appetite? What are the target funds that are being pointed to the Amazon?  What are the value chains and venture pathways with greatest positioning to outcompete the deforestation economy? How is the fourth sector working individually and collectively to measure the pulse of the Amazon bioeconomy?

Danielle Rappaport
Amazon Investor Coalition

Dr. Danielle Rappaport is an Earth system scientist and forester with 12+ years of experience driving innovation to reverse deforestation and extinction. As a former NASA Earth and Space Science Fellow, Danielle led the first comprehensive assessment of carbon emissions following Amazon forest degradation to support routine greenhouse gas accounting for carbon markets (e.g., REDD+). Danielle is a pioneer of biodiversity remote sensing and has developed novel solutions for measuring human impacts on Amazon forest wildlife using autonomous sound sensors. While serving as a research fellow at the University of São Paulo, Danielle developed a satellite-based decision-support framework to prioritize restoration investments in Brazil’s Atlantic forest. Danielle has worked to advance conservation agendas with the IUCN, the American Forest Foundation, National Geographic Society, and the World Resources Institute. Danielle holds a Master of Forestry from Yale University and a PhD in Geographical Sciences from the University of Maryland.

Sergio Leitão
Escolhas

A lawyer, Sergio is the founder and executive director of Instituto Escolhas. He was Director of Public Policy and Director of Campaigns for Greenpeace in Brazil, where he worked for 10 years. Founder and executive director of Instituto Socioambiental (ISA). He lived in New York for two years, during which time he volunteered with the Rainforest Foundation US. He was advisor for social and environmental issues to the Minister of Justice, José Gregori, during the Fernando Henrique Cardoso administration. Lawyer for the Nucleus of Indigenous Rights (NDI) and legal advisor for the Study Project on Indigenous Lands (PETI) of the Department of Anthropology of the National Museum/RJ. He began his career as advisor for social issues for the Archdiocese of Fortaleza, when he worked with Cardinal Aloisio Lorscheider. Born in Crateús (CE), he is the father of two daughters and currently lives in São Paulo.

Marysol Goes
Amazon Sustainability Foundation / Hub da Bioeconomia Amazônica

A specialist in innovation, new economies, and futurism. Marysol has been working with entrepreneurship for nine years. The last five have been dedicated to boosting entrepreneurial ecosystems and expanding the innovation capacity of territories outside the major economic centers focusing on urban peripheries in São Paulo and remote areas in Amazonas. She is currently the catalyst of the Amazon Green Economy and Bioeconomy Hub, a joint initiative of the Green Economy Coalition and the Sustainable Amazon Foundation, which has several members committed to accelerating the transition to a new green and inclusive economy in the Amazon.

Carolina Genin
Carolina Genin
Concertação & World Resources Institute

Carolina is the Climate Director at WRI Brazil. In this role, she strategizes how WRI can put its knowledge and expertise at the service of Brazilian society to best mitigate climate change risks and adapt to its impact whilst keeping development goals high. As she enjoys building bridges and connecting people that do not necessarily think alike, the goal is to explore how the climate team can partner with forest and cities teams in Brazil and with other WRI colleagues around the globe to increase the contribution of WRI in keeping the rise of global temperature below 1.5 degree in the next decades.

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5. Limited demand for Amazonian products from corporate buyers

  • Too few long-term purchase contracts that help producers and entrepreneurs to access finance for impact business.
  • Delayed returns due to delayed profitability of restoration and agroforestry.
  • Limited research and awareness of the cornucopia of commercially viable Amazonian biodiversity.
  • Lack of price stability and transparency.

4. Limited connectivity between global investors and regional opportunities

  • International private sector investors lack access to high-potential deal flow from the Amazon.
  • Amazon entrepreneurs lack experience with investor communications.
  • Lack of trust and connective tissue between global investors and Amazon entrepreneurs / producers.
  • Inefficient matchmaking systems between Amazon incubator/accelerator portfolios, angel investor appetite, and ecosystem  requirements.

3. Insufficient risk capital and catalytic philanthropy

  • Limited philanthropy and matching political will to combat illegal deforestation by enforcing the rule of law.
  • Insufficient catalytic capital to derisk private investment and make early projects bankable.
  • Incomplete project  development funding to scale carbon finance systems from local levels to jurisdictions.
  • Lack of community wealth reciprocity to ensure that investments foster local  prosperity while reducing  inequality and thwarting  deforestation incentives.

2. Lack of market data and coordination

  • Poor market data  transparency for investors and offtakers  (projects, products, prices, historicals).
  • Global finance players lack understanding of regional context, opportunities, and risk mitigation.
  • Knowledge silos across countries.
  • Limited peer-to-peer learning across the capital stack.

1. UNDERDEVELOPED MARKET INFRASTRUCTURE

  • Weakened investment-ready impact business pipeline and underdeveloped innovation ecosystem.
  • Local companies are far from markets and limited by logistical and transportation challenges.
  • Weak regulatory environment, insecure land rights, poor law enforcement, risks to the rule of law.
  • Systemic barriers for female producers and entrepreneurs.