AGROFORESTRY IN THE AMAZON REGION: SOLUTIONS TO OVERCOME PITFALLS
December 5th 3:30 PM ET
What are the main agroforestry investment pitfalls? Join us to discuss, and learn from a diverse set of experiences in the region. What are the primary regulatory obstacles, especially around environmental licensing and land tenure? What are the recommended investment vehicles and capital structures? How can we ensure product quality, market access and consumer demand?
Juliana Santiago
Emergent
Juliana leads Emergent’s engagement strategy with Brazil. She has +15 yrs of experience in financing Brazil’s sustainable development in areas related to forests conservation, climate, social inclusion, sanitation and public management. From 2013 to 2018, she was the head of the Amazon Fund at the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), a US$ 1.3 bn global REDD+ fund that supported initiatives and public policies for the conservation, social inclusion, and sustainable use of the Amazonian biodiversity. She holds a Masters in Latin American Studies from the University of Florida, with special certifications in Tropical Conservation and Development and in Sustainable Development Practice.
Marcelo Pereti
Belterra Agroflorestas
Marcelo is the CFO of Belterra, structuring long term projects with investors and debt facilities with commercial banks, capital markets and blended finance facilities. He served for 10 years as a senior investment manager and Finance Director of Bom Sucesso Agroindustria (BSA), a Brazilian US$ 130 million top-line company operating on the sugar, ethanol and energy sectors, where he was part of the team responsible for securing over US$ 140 million in corporate financing. Marcelo also served as FP&A reporting directly to the Board of Investors. Marcelo also evaluated and structured diverse investments in the energy sector, including solar, wind and biomass energy generation projects. Prior to joining BSA, Marcelo worked at BrasilAgro, a public listed company in Brazil, where he worked on the acquisition and development of rural properties. He holds an MBA and a Business Administration degree from Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV).
Mariano Cenamo
Café Apui/Amazônia Agrofloresta
Mariano is a forest engineer and social entrepreneur who dedicated his career searching and developing innovative solutions to reconcile socioeconomic development and forest conservation in the Amazon. In recent years, it has become a reference in building the impact business ecosystem and attracting private investments to the region. Mariano is part of the Lemann Foundation’s leader network and is an advisor to several organizations and initiatives aimed at sustainable development. Speaker at events such as Itaú Amazônia and Expert XP ESG 2021, he recently launched AMAZ, an accelerator of startups focused on impact entrepreneurship in the Amazon. Mariano was recognized as one of the 50 most innovative Brazilians dealing with climate change, according to Época Negócios (April / 2021).
Phil Kauders
Courageous Land
Philip Kauders is the CEO and Co-Founder of Courageous Land, an operator of large-scale biodiverse agroforestry systems. Courageous Land has been selected by the World Economic Forum as a Top Innovator winner of the Amazon Bioeconomy Challenge and has won awards and/or recognition from Fundo Vale, Regen Network, Climate Ventures and the Amazon Investor Coalition. Philip has over a decade of experience in Brazil with company leadership, global sales, investments, technology, and marketing. Philip started his career at Goldman Sachs in New York before moving to Private Equity at Tarpon Investimentos in Brazil. Prior to co-founding Courageous Land, Philip was the Head of Latin America for the world’s largest influencer marketing company, LTK. Philip graduated Magna cum Laude from Cornell University where he conducted 4 years of undergraduate research on microfinance and impact investing alongside PhDs.
Bruno Kato
3 Agro
Entrepreneur and Engineer for Passion, Educator for pleasure, Green Venture Builder for love. Strong corporate executive education, undergraduate in electrical engineering (UFPA 2004), holds an MBA in Strategy Management (ESPM 2007) and an MBA in Finance (IBMEC 2010). Experience in several economy sectors such as telecom, services, mining, chemical industry, electrical energy, R&D, agroforestry, regenerative agriculture and green investments. Background in complex projects, complex sales, franchising/partnership management, sustainability, business modeling and shared service management.
Alexis Bastos
Rioterra
PhD in Geography from the Federal University of Paraná-UFPR. Post Doctorate in carbon dynamics in tropical soils held through the Agrarian Sciences Sector/UFPR. Member of the research group Geosciences/UNIR. Program coordinator of the Center for Studies of Culture and Environment of the Amazon – RIOTERRA. Specialist in forest carbon markets. He researches regional dynamics of anthropization, relating its reflections to the stability of environmental systems in the Amazon. He has been working for over 20 years on issues related to socio-environmental development and territorial management in the Amazon. He has coordinated several projects for the elaboration of territorial management and social organization instruments with family farmers, indigenous peoples and traditional populations. He has extensive background in designing projects, project management, and fundraising in Brazil and abroad.
