Vilnius-based fintech startup HeavyFinance has raised €3 million in a seed funding round led by Practica Capital, a venture capital firm. The startup connects a global investor community with European farmers. The company’s ultimate goal is to reduce 1 gigaton of CO2 emissions by 2050. HeavyFinance plans to use the funding to expand its reach across Europe and create direct access for businesses looking to offset their carbon footprint. Additionally, the investment will allow HeavyFinance to increase its staff count to almost double the current number of 33 employees over the next 12 months.
HeavyFinance also aims to accelerate the shift from conventional farming practices to regenerative ones by enrolling 200,000 hectares of regenerative farmland as part of its carbon farming initiative. Overall, this funding will help HeavyFinance achieve its mission of tackling the climate crisis by promoting sustainable agriculture and reducing CO2 emissions.
Laimonas Noreika, Founder of HeavyFinance, said “After a successful seed round, HeavyFinance is ready to continue its expansion in the European marketplace, delivering sustainable climate investments to even more investors. Operating in additional markets and expanding our investor suite is an important step in the company’s growth and the development of new products and schemes, alongside bringing in industry experts to support our journey will be a priority over the coming months.“
“Tackling climate change must be a united effort, and with almost a third of global greenhouse emissions coming from agricultural products, HeavyFinance is here to lead the charge in the agricultural sector. Food growth plays a vital part in the climate battle as a prominent global issue, and connecting investors with farmers and agricultural specialists through our finance platform can help accelerate the adoption of regenerative soil management practices to reduce carbon emissions output throughout Europe.”
HeavyFinance’s financing supports soil health and maintenance in order to reduce emissions from machinery fossil fuel combustion, remove CO2 from the atmosphere through the biogeochemical pressures of plants, reduce N2O pollution from excessive fertiliser application, improve biodiversity, and help farms become resilient to the effects of climate change such as draughts and high temperatures.
The company has built an underlying infrastructure to score the borrowing capabilities of farmers and agricultural operators to facilitate transactions and administer loans more effectively.
Arvydas Bložė, Partner at Practica Capital, said “HeavyFinance team is committed to transforming the traditional agricultural lending marketplace by incentivizing farmers to adopt sustainable and regenerative farming practices by providing them access to the necessary capital. By connecting farmers in Europe directly and introducing a proprietary soil-based carbon credit methodology, we anticipate creating a new channel for downstream corporates to offset their carbon credits and stimulating institutional capital investments in the green sector.”
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