Natural Ventures

We’re #hiring a new Office Manager - Impact Venture Capital in The Hague, South Holland. Apply today or share this post with your network.

Great interview with Max Gulde, CEO of Natural portfolio company constellr featured in Forbes this week! https://lnkd.in/eGA2wEib

Natural Ventures is pleased to announce the first close of its inaugural $100m fund. Natural Ventures' anchor investors include HELM AG of Germany, Chemovarteq, a Swiss-based family office, and a strategic UAE investor. The fund selected Abu Dhabi and the ADGM as its headquarters due to the region’s strategic importance in food and water. The recent launch of the AgriFood Growth and Water Abundance (AGWA) cluster, led by the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) and Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), shows the region’s commitment and is expected to result in USD 34 billion of investment by 2045. Stephan Schnabel, Chairman and CEO of Helm, comments: “As a business, Helm is always actively looking to find partners that enable the growth of new technologies that address the challenges our customers face and to support companies that provide enabling technology platforms and products to future-proof our customer businesses. Our investment in the Natural Ventures fund reflects our commitment to addressing these future needs and is another excellent example of our commitment to growing through partnerships.” The fund benefits from close strategic partnerships with two global sector specialists. AgBioScout, the world’s leading global Agtech scouting and advisory company with deep technical AgTech sector knowledge, and Isle Utilities, the world’s leading innovation consultancy specialising in the development and commercialisation of emerging technologies in the water & environmental sectors, provide the fund with unique market access and due diligence capabilities. Stephen Pearce, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Chemovateq, adds: “Between AgBioScout with its broad sector knowledge in Agriculture, Isle with its sector expertise in Water and its global footprint and Chemovateq with its associated knowledge and networks, we collectively have a level of sector expertise, resource and experience with networks of scale that is truly unique and positions this fund to be a best in class investment proposition for all participants.“ Mark Jenkins, Managing Partner at Natural Ventures, commented: “As an impact-driven team, Natural Ventures welcomes our exceptionally strong strategic investors and leading AgTech and water industry partners to our collaborative investment model. Our combined strengths and alignment of purpose are striking as we look to invest in exceptional management teams with innovative solutions to solve global issues of water and food security. We look forward to working together to support our portfolio companies.” Natural Ventures Fund I launches with an initial portfolio of four leading technology companies, including Active Membranes, Brevel, constellr, and N-Drip Gravity Micro Irrigation, and a strong pipeline of new investments. #venture #vc #venturecapital #closing #fundraising #water #food #impactinvesting #impact #startups https://lnkd.in/e3eq8eWt

We are excited to announce our investment in Active Membranes, a pioneering company in the field of desalination technology. Natural Ventures is pleased to lead this round in collaboration with excellent co-investors in the form of Echo River Capital and Pacifica Water Solutions (PWS). Benjamin Tam, Operating Partner at Natural Ventures, commented: "As the global demand for fresh water continues to rise, especially in regions heavily reliant on desalination, the need to reduce both the economic and environmental costs of this vital process becomes increasingly urgent. Active Membranes takes a novel approach to desalination, augmenting membrane technology with unique characteristics that allow for efficient scaling. This investment underscores Natural Ventures' commitment to supporting innovative solutions that address critical challenges in water resource management and sustainability. We look forward to contributing to Active Membranes' journey and witnessing its impact on the global water crisis." https://lnkd.in/d6Qx5dXb

We are excited to welcome Paul Streater to the Natural team as an Operating Partner. This addition forms part of a larger strategic partnership between Natural Ventures and AgBioScout, a leading global Agtech scouting and advisory company with deep technical sector knowledge. As their COO, Paul leads AgBioScouts Investment and M&A practice across the AgBioScout global client base and its global network. AgBioScout specialises in the food and non-food agricultural sectors helping identify, qualify and accelerate the adoption of sustainable technology innovations across biotechnology, life science ,genetics, and digital tech sectors. Paul brings a wealth of experience and network in digital and biotechnology innovation in the Agricultural Food sector, further strengthening our capabilities in the space.

Great article on the future of agriculture from our partner Paul Rous https://lnkd.in/eXDqM5_g

We are very pleased to be able to announce that René Savelsberg has joined our impressive line-up of technologists, entrepreneurs and domain experts operating across the across the Water, Food and Venture Capital sectors. René joins Natural as a Strategic Advisor to advise the Natural team on strategy and fund raising, whilst giving support in deal flow sourcing and finding co-investment parties. He also works with the Natural team on deal structuring, impact policies and advises the investment committee.   René Savelsberg is Co-Founder and Partner of SET Ventures since 2007. He has over 25 years of experience in technology investing both in deeptech and in the energy transition, with a background in corporate venturing and venture capital. René is an open and honest business leader and supports portfolio companies by focusing on the strategic issues and leveraging a great network.   René started his career in both small and large companies as part of sales and marketing teams. After moving to California in 1990 he became engaged in the start-up and venture capital community when shaping Philip Electronics’ external innovations in Silicon Valley and beyond. René holds a Master’s degree in Industrial Engineering & Management from the Technical University Eindhoven, the Netherlands, and has successfully led multiple exits and serves on the Supervisory Board of several leading European companies. Join us in welcoming René to the team!  

We are excited to welcome Rami Ghandour to the Natural team as a Strategic Advisor. Rami serves as the CEO of Metito Utilities, a globally recognised developer, investor, owner and operator specialising in desalination, wastewater treatment, water reuse, and industrial solutions with a strong portfolio of projects across its key emerging geographies. Rami is also the co-CEO of the Metito group, which operates across the entire water treatment value chain with 4500 employees, experience in over 50 countries and over 20 offices globally. Notable projects include engineering and delivering the world’s largest agricultural wastewater reuse plant, in Egypt, and the world’s largest sea water reverse osmosis plant, in Saudi Arabia. Rami has led the development of the first PPP projects in the sector in markets as diverse as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Rwanda, Serbia, Pakistan and Uzbekistan, and oversaw the creation of the largest non-Chinese wastewater platform in China. He also leads Metito’s endeavours into strategic partnerships, mergers, acquisitions, and equity investments. Rami spearheaded Metito’s industry-leading corporate social responsibility efforts. At Natural Ventures, Rami will advises the Natural team on deal selection, commercial scaling and navigating the Middle Eastern, African and Asian landscape for our portfolio. “Rami is a globally respected leader in the water community, and we are thrilled to have him join our team,” said Maarten ter Keurst, Managing Partner at Natural Ventures. "The experience and network he brings to the table, as well as the invaluable perspective of a global water integrator, will be invaluable to our team and portfolio as we continue to scale Natural Ventures."

We are thrilled to welcome Paul Rous in joining the Natural team as a Partner to lead our AgTech investment strategy. His appointment serves to further strengthen our in-house capabilities as it relates to agricultural technologies in our mission to support innovations around Water & Food Security. Paul brings over a decade of experience in venture capital, innovation, and agriculture to his new role. He deeply understands the AgTech ecosystem and agricultural sector and the challenges and opportunities facing the global water and food systems. “Paul is a highly respected leader in the agtech community, and we are thrilled to have him join our team,” said Mark Jenkins, Managing Partner at Natural Ventures. “His deep expertise in venture capital, innovation, and agriculture will be invaluable as we continue to invest in the most promising technology companies that are helping to build more sustainable water and food systems.” “I am excited to join Natural Ventures and lead the firm’s investment strategy in technologies which are playing a role in providing access to a more sustainable supply of food and water,” said Paul. “I believe that technology has the potential to play a critical role in addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges, such as climate change interrelated with food and water security. I look forward to working with the team to identify and invest in the companies leading in solving these challenges.”