Silverstrand Capital

Did you know that some of the most groundbreaking advancements in agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and nutraceuticals owe their success to wild genes? 💊 The life-saving antibiotic penicillin? Derived from a humble soil fungus (Penicillium chrysogenum). 🥔 Blight-resistant potatoes? Made possible by genes from a wild Mexican potato (Solanum demissum). 🍻 The bread and beers you have the pleasure of enjoying? A gift from yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) thought to have been isolated from the skin of grapes. From our fields to our medicine cabinets, nature’s genetic resources power billion-dollar industries. But there’s a catch: the biodiversity crisis threatens these irreplaceable resources, putting our future innovations—and survival—at risk. That’s where initiatives like the Cali Fund, announced at COP16, come in - But there's a lot that's still left to be ironed out. In our latest thought piece, authored by our impact investment manager Julianto Johanes, CFA and consultant Rachel Ashton Lim, we take a closer look at the Cali Fund & Data Sequencing Information (what policymakers call the data derived from genetic resources): https://lnkd.in/g2-WNh6n -- If you are a company working in nature DSI, we would love to hear from you! Reach out at https://lnkd.in/gXVZurwA

Will we see you at the Investments into Forestry & Biodiversity Conference? Join our impact investment manager Julianto Johanes, CFA in conversation with Fabian Schmidt-Pramov (co-founder, biometrio.earth), Daniel Zarin (Executive Director, Forests & Climate Change, Wildlife Conservation Society) and Aidan Mock (Impacts and Assurance Director, Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber) about all things carbon and biodiversity credits. 💡 Find out more about this conference at ➡️ https://lnkd.in/d5YAAEuz #IFBSingapore2025

A snapshot of some exciting progress in our nature-positive investments in H2 this year ↓ 🧑🌾 Agros completed its first close for its Series A round with investors including SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC ENERGY ACCESS Asia, Gaia Impact, and Wavemaker Impact 🔍 goodcarbon, in addition to closed an extension round of EUR 1m with Triodos, closed with Miele as a significant new client to help the company source high quality nature-based carbon credits 🌳 Carbon Neutral, which is wholly owned by Tiverton Agriculture Impact Fund, has partnered with Save the Children International to deliver on its Nature-based Solutions for Children Hub (Read more at:  https://lnkd.in/g6_jNveU) 💬 Nika.eco launched its spatial computing software (NikaPlanet) that allows fast, large scale project analyses, as well as easy AI-based querying and coding, and has started pilots with leading carbon project developers, universities and research institutes. 🐨 Xylo Systems launched new product features on their: New Area of Influence Feature, Ecological Vegetation (Victoria) and Threatened Ecological Communities (Australia) datasets   We are proud of the founders we get to work with, and look forward to more great things to come in 2025! ⬇️ If you're interested to join our community, here's who's hiring 🛠️ Koltiva: https://lnkd.in/gQ6a-zaG 🛠️ Agros: https://lnkd.in/gFmP4wp9 🛠️ PlanBlue: https://lnkd.in/gj4zzqK9 💡 And ICYMI: Our updates from the first half of 2024: https://lnkd.in/gxVkxixE

The Liveability Challenge is back! Presented by Temasek Foundation and organised by Eco-Business, there are over S$2 million in funding and investment opportunities up for offer. We're seeking ground-breaking solutions to address some of the world’s biggest sustainability challenges, focused on two critical themes for 2025: 🍃 Decarbonisation: Innovations that can cut carbon emissions (think waste to resource or energy efficiency solutions for industries such as manufacturing and aviation) ❄️ Cool Earth: Solutions to mitigate extreme weather and restore environmental balance (for example, nature-based solutions and heat mitigation technologies) This is your chance to share your ideas, access a strategic network, and gain the catalytic funding your business might need to transform bold ideas into real-world impact. Applications close 9 February 2025! Visit 🔗 https://lnkd.in/fgEg5_Q for submission details. #TheLiveabilityChallenge #LiveableCities #TLC2025 Silverstrand is proud to be a partner for this year's edition.

As we come to a close for the third edition of the Biodiversity Accelerator+, we celebrate the wins from our first two cohorts as well! Here’s what some of the members of our alumni have been up to: 🦁 EarthAcre - in addition to being one of the pilot projects in Verra’s SD Vista standards - is working with Milkywire and Klarna on projects for their Nature Transformation Fund, channelling critical finance for indigenous landowners stewarding local ecosystems in Kenya 🪸 Archireef deployed Eco Sea Wall Panels in Abu Dhabi in collaboration with the AD Ports Group, to attract marine biodiversity back to shorelines that have undergone development works 🐨 Wilderlands has sold over 150,000 Biological Diversity Units (25,000 sold in the past month alone) - representing over 150,000 square meters of Australian biodiversity, protected forever 🌴 Bioverse showcased its partnership with Natura to inventory 4,000 km2 of non-timber forest products, to provide locals with viable alternative livelihoods to deforestation-linked supply chains 🪶 Nightjar has deployed 300 of its AI-enabled cameras, which have helped prevent close to 1,000 human-wildlife encounters 👗 TORAJAMELO launched AHANA, its multi-brand showcase which has onboarded 28 brands so far, showcased at Melbourne Fashion Week 2023, Tokyo Gift Show 2024, and Asia Berlin Summit 2024 📸 Wildlife Drones was awarded the Telstra Business Award in the Sustainability category 🏆 Bioverse, GroundUp Conservation and Wilderlands were named among the top innovators in the World Economic Forum’s Biodiversity Challenge Congratulations to all for a fantastic year! 👏 Learn more about our alumni community at https://lnkd.in/gnGmtidu

💡 Don't miss this report from Centre for Impact Investing and Practices (CIIP), Wavemaker Impact, and the Philanthropy Asia Alliance - featuring Silverstrand investees Agros and Mad Capital's Perennial Fund, the report dives deep into the challenge for agriculture facing our region, as well as potential technology and financing solutions to address them. Read more at ➡️ https://lnkd.in/ggHQdtcm

You’ve heard from our Entrepreneurs-In-Residences, mission-aligned investors, and the organising team. Now, it’s time to hear from the most important people of the Biodiversity Accelerator+ - the cohort! Read about our conversation with 5 of our founders about their convictions as founders, key takeaways, and more at: https://lnkd.in/g4wq4dzA

Invasive species have cost the globe >$1.28 trillion between 1970 and 2017 - alarming costs that are projected to triple every decade. Here's the landscape of startups looking to address them ⬇️ (Including Silverstrand investee Invasive Species Corporation) Interested to learn more? We've written a two-part piece with The NatureTech Memos on invasive species, its impacts, as well as solutions in biofouling - a fascinating area of innovation that can curb the spread of invasive species from the source. Check out the latest at 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gbAvhnXA

Pictured below: Ecologists from the TAFE SA Aboriginal Access Centre conducting pit trap surveys to identify the scaly creatures of the Coorong   - one of the projects conserved through sales of the Wilderlands Biological Diversity Units. Wilderlands, one of our first cohort of the Biodiversity Accelerator+ companies, has protected 151,373 square metres of vulnerable Australian habitat, forever!( Read: https://lnkd.in/gn9TZi4e) We are proud to have contributed to the protection of these natural ecosystems, as well as supported the growth of the Wilderlands team work. (Ash Knop & Heath Evans) Want to brighten up your day with some beautiful photos of the critters found in their survey or learn more about how you can also participate in the protection of these landscapes? Check out this special edition showcase ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gVa2Cv2h

Invasive Species - They can spread disease, decimate native species populations, and outcompete native species for resources like food & habitat. In the first of this two part series presented in collaboration with The NatureTech Memos, we dive deeper into the invasive species concept, their impacts, and highlight five diverse innovators working in this space: Invasive Species Corporation, Wildlife Drones, RapidAIM Pty Ltd, INVERSA Leathers, and Oxitec (Psst - stay tuned for part two for an even more extensive landscape!). Link to the full post is in the comments ⬇️ Ollie Potter | Rachel Ashton Lim