Barely two years since launching its debut US$10 million sustainability fund, Americas-based venture capital (VC) firm Waterpoint Lane is looking to launch its second, much larger-sized fund within Q1 2025.
“From an investment strategy perspective, our fund values are well aligned with Shariah principles,” Founder and Managing Partner Ben Gibbons told IFN Investor. “These are opportunities from investing in disruptive technologies, seeing the transformation of our food systems on a global basis.”
While the initial investments were made in startups in Canada, the US and the UK, “we have also looked at investments the Middle East and some into Africa. We have not deployed capital into those markets as yet, but we continue to explore as this opportunity involves a globally-connected food system”.
MyLand is a firm within this VC’s current portfolio of seven outfits – it has developed a scalable way to leverage on microalgae to foster soil health. This technology reduces the need for synthetic fertilizers – an achievement which has drawn attention from several groups in Qatar.
Managing Partner Meifan Shi said the initial fund investments took place even before the offering closed. “We chose not to wait and typically try to be the lead investor when we see promising opportunities. That is how we won support from family offices and high net-worth individuals, while getting a lot of attention from institutional investors as well.”
Based on this success, Ben said initial interest for the next fund is strong with “capital providers out of Abu Dhabi, in particular”.
But Waterpoint Lane will not be seeking Shariah certification for its funds. “We are certainly having conversations with investors on things like Shariah law and ESG frameworks are important too. We can show where and how we are compliant.”
Ben explained the firm’s focus is on impact sustainability investments as a risk mitigation framework, acting as the intersection of technology and productivity. “The outcome of that is that we are ESG and Shariah compliant.”
Meifan further explained that Shariah certification is not as critical for the Waterpoint Lane’s offerings, due to the firm’s clientele being involved via private deals and these are sophisticated investors who have already conducted the due diligence ahead.
“In the US, ESG is not the most popular acronym. But in other parts of the world, there’s much more acceptance and we take note of the preferences as a global investment manager. We recognize that past funding opportunities were a lot for ESG projects and there was misuse.”
Meifan and Ben expressed confidence that Waterpoint Lane can overcome these negative impressions and grow to be a global leader in impact sustainability investment landscape.
“We have mapped out a plan through the 2050, while a lot of corporations and jurisdictions are still focused on 2030 goals.”
