SA venture to benefit from new Mondelez impact investing platform

25 Feb 2021

South African organisation Inmed Aquaponics Social Enterprise (ASE) is among the first to receive capital through Mondelez International's new impact investing platform Sustainable Futures. The global snack company announced the launch of the platform last week, which is designed to incubate, finance and support self-sustaining ventures that address key challenges in the world.

Credit: Inmed Aquaponics Social Enterprise

Sustainable Futures seeks to co-invest in projects addressing climate change, as well as making seed investments into social ventures that aim to improve livelihoods and build healthy communities. Through the new platform, Mondelez intends to invest in projects that protect forests, reduce carbon emissions or increase resilience in landscapes from which it sources raw materials.

The first social ventures being backed by Sustainable Futures include South Africa's Inmed Aquaponics Social Enterprise, which supports agro-entrepreneurs in climate-smart food production, and an NGO in India that will set up a sustainable, women-owned social enterprise to up-cycle multi-layered plastic packaging into board for multiple uses.

Mondelez said that Sustainable Futures allows the company the opportunity to pursue and nurture innovative projects, together with like-minded investors, that align with its sustainability strategy and help deliver on its commitments to people and the planet.

“We don’t have all the answers, but we do know that alone, we can never achieve significant progress in the fight against systemic issues like climate change. Sustainable Futures is our first foray into impact investing and gives us the opportunity to work with others in supporting environmental and social projects that can help drive meaningful, long-term change,” said Dirk Van de Put, chief executive and chairman of Mondelez International.

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Christine Montenegro McGrath, VP and chief of global impact and sustainability at Mondelez International, commented, “It’s only by testing and learning new approaches, and by seeking new forms of partnership with NGOs, governments and social entrepreneurs, that we can unleash the creativity we need to tackle some of the world’s most challenging issues.

"By offering seed investment and expertise through Sustainable Futures, Mondelez International can help to create lasting solutions in areas like forest protection, carbon emissions reduction and innovation in recycling.”