Partnership between Sitawi Financeira do Bem and Instituto Sabin enables a low interest credit line for organizations with a positive socio-environmental impact. Amounts will be borrowed mainly by individuals and the payment term is up to two years
Sitawi Finance for Good, with the support of the Sabin Institute, launched this Wednesday (12/06) a Collective Loan Platform that allows people and organizations to invest directly in businesses with a positive socio-environmental impact. The initiative, which increases access to impact investing in Brazil, is expected to mobilize between R$ 1.3 million and R$ 2.5 million in the coming months, multiplying the capital invested and the positive impact generated.
The platform is live at the address www.emprestimocoletivo.net. In it, those interested will already be able to research the profile, impact and financial projections of 4 social businesses selected by Sitawi, and invest in the one they choose, with values starting at R$ 1 thousand. Social businesses will use the money to leverage their operations, and will pay interest of 1% per month on the loan. Within up to 24 months, investors will have received back all the capital they borrowed, plus interest. The operation is carried out through the P2P lending model, in partnership with CapRate.
In the coming months, new businesses selected by Sitawi Finance for Good will enter the platform, which could lead to raising up to R$ 2.5 million. “Impact investing has grown in recognition and value, but there are still major barriers for the average investor to apply their money more purposefully. On the other hand, are the impact businesses, which need capital to grow and continue to positively impact the environment and the lives of thousands of people?, comments Andrea Resende, Social Finance Manager at Sitawi.
Democratization of impact investing
Sitawi Financeira do Bem was a pioneer in collective impact lending in Brazil and is now expanding its operations to reduce barriers towards the democratization of impact investing in Brazil. The platform came about through a collaborative effort to raise capital for impact as well as impact capital: on the one hand Sitawi, with its ten years of experience and track record in impact investing, and on the other, Instituto Sabin, with articulation and focus on innovation in social finance. The Institute's initial contribution was R$ 500 thousand, in a structure of blended finance, in which philanthropic capital is used to subsidize the operation, provide anchor investment and attract market investors.
Fábio Deboni, executive manager of the Sabin Institute, explains that the platform is similar to the collective crowdfunding, but with a different bias: the resources are raised as loans, not as donations. ?Our goal is for the Institute's investment to leverage more resources from individuals and companies”, he explains.
In addition to bringing new resources to organizations with few available loan options, the platform aims to consolidate crowdfunding as an impactful financial instrument. ?With this initiative, social impact organizations will have the opportunity to obtain loans at a reasonable interest rate, which is currently not possible in public and private banks?, praises Fábio.
selected businesses
In this context, four businesses were selected to participate in the 1st Collective Loan Round: UpSaúde, Orgânicos in Box, CoopSertão and Stattus4. The selection of organizations in this first round took into account business growth, financial sustainability, impact and leadership. Those selected are:
COOPSERTON:
The Cooperativa Ser do Sertão – COOPSERTÃO brings together producers from the Agricultural and Family Farming sector in Pintadas, in the interior of Bahia. Founded in 2008, its mission is to promote the strengthening of family farming through cooperativism, with agroecological practices and professionalization of production units. The cooperative was an initiative of women in the region, and is still managed by a majority of women and with relevant participation of women producers in the membership base. At the end of its 2nd year of operation, the organization basically disposed of umbu and typical fruits of the region, transforming them into jams, sweets and pulp. Today, after 10 years of existence, it is expanding a fruit pulp factory. The entire surplus from the operation is redistributed to the implementation of agroecological agricultural techniques, with the aim of making production possible throughout the year, without the drought interrupting the production process. Main SDGs: 2 Zero Hunger, 3 Health and Well-Being, 5 Gender Equality and 12 Responsible Consumption and Production.
Organics in Box:
Founded in 2014 in Rio de Janeiro, the organization was born from the desire to make certified organic food available to consumers at prices below what is commonly practiced in this segment – in addition to valuing small rural producers, who now have a reliable source of outlet for their products. , at fair prices. For this, Orgânicos in Box has developed an e-commerce platform for certified organic products 100%, which spreads organic food throughout the city of Rio de Janeiro. Since the beginning of its operation, Orgânicos has sold approximately 300 tons of pesticide-free food, currently growing at a rate of 10 tons per month. Main SDGs: 2 – Zero Hunger and Sustainable Agriculture, 3 – Health and Well-being and 6 – Drinking Water and Sanitation.
UPShealth:
UPSaúde is a company created in Rio Grande do Norte in 2018 with the aim of improving various aspects of Public Health communication, aiming at reducing queues and promoting easy access to information. Through a data intelligence application, the organization serves all public health audiences, presenting functionalities for doctors, hospital managers and patients. Thanks to online consultation appointments, availability of management and telemedicine reports, it has already promoted an average reduction of 38% in service queues in municipalities that contracted the service. Main SDGs: 1 – Poverty Eradication and 3 – Health and Well-Being.
Status4:
It develops software for Water Distribution Management, focusing on the automatic detection of leaks in the distribution network. It locates leaks more efficiently than traditionally used methods, in addition to adding intelligence to the service: it indicates water consumption, points of attention for possible losses and reports based on artificial intelligence, to provide more precision and speed to the diagnosis. Stattus4 was founded in 2016 in Sorocaba, in the interior of São Paulo. It already has contracts with private and public water distributors, such as Iguá Saneamento (through Águas Cuiabá), and also with gas distributors, thanks to small adjustments to the sensor. Its solution has already reduced from 30% to 18%, for example, the gross water loss of the Sociedade de Abastecimento de Água e Saneamento de Campinas (SANASA), in 2019. 6 – Drinking Water and Sanitation, 9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure and 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities.
I inteceleri:
Founded in 2013 in Pará, Inteceleri is a startup from Pará that was born from the initiative of parents and teachers who had children and students with difficulties in learning mathematics in a traditional format, a national reality. The company develops teaching methodologies, supported by digital educational games and virtual reality equipment, which are used by teachers and students. All content is developed to associate the problems proposed in the school environment with the student's daily life, favoring the development of mathematical sense in an interactive and playful way, focusing on the student's protagonism. One of its great successes, the Matematicando application, facilitates learning through colored tables, and encourages the improvement of mental calculation and logical reasoning. The company is even qualified as a partner of Google for Education. Inteceleri has already benefited over 249,000 students and over 8,000 teachers in 14 cities in the North and Northeast of Brazil. Main SDGs: 4 – Quality Education, 10 – Reduction of Inequalities.
The 1st Round of Collective Loans has as a strategic partner the Sabin Institute and, as development partners, the CapRate, a Impact Workshop and TozziniFreire Advogados. To learn more about the business and participate as an investor, visit www.emprestimocoletivo.net.
See legal notice before investing: https://sitawi.caprate.com.br/termos
