We are experiencing accelerating changes in food consumption in Latin America, and it is essential to tackle the sustainability issue now. Peru startup Sinba does just that, and investors have taken notice.
While well-known tech startups aim to get food to the end consumer, Sinba ensures the food waste is dealt with properly. Founders Pipo Reiser and Andrea Rivera recently raised an investment round that included participation from local individual investors and IDB Lab.
Here what you need to know about the round:
Direct investment from IDB Lab in a Peru startup. The innovation arm of the regional development bank approved a $420,000 loan to Sinba over six years to finance improvements in Sinba’s processing plant for organic residual waste. IDB Lab’s Mosi Mosquera announced the investment approval in September.
Local support and co-investment. The Board Perú led an equity syndicate of eight investors to co-invest over $200,000 alongside IDB Lab. This key local backing comes following previous support from Emprende UP and AGORA partnerships.
Gold standard for social entrepreneurship in Peru. The Sinba team has been a leader in Peru in social entrepreneurship both locally and globally. They are geniune about their mission, having set up as a Certified B Corp, and work hard to promote and implement the beneficial effects of estabilishing a circular economy. The startup was the winner of the 2017 edition of Kunan, a social entrepreneurship prize in Peru, and was recognized at the Innovate4Climate forum in Singapore in 2019.
IDB Lab is a pioneer in early stage investing in Latin America, both directly and through venture capital funds. This investment in a Peru startup is a landmark step we can all celebrate. Where IDB Labs goes, public and private investors follow and entrepreunuerial ecosystems flourish. Sinba’s achievement is a huge step forward for social entreprenuership, and the entire startup community, in Peru.