Unlocking Finance for Cold Rooms and Cooling as Service: Insights from the Field and Financiers

Summary

The webinar, hosted by Emma Wink, delves into unlocking cold storage financing for agriculture, focusing on decentralized cold rooms as a service. Panelists from various organizations discuss the importance of scaling access to cold storage to reduce food loss and increase agricultural income. They explore financing strategies, challenges, and digital tools that can enhance creditworthiness and showcase the social and environmental impacts of cold storage solutions. The discussion highlights innovative financing mechanisms, the role of digitalization in managing cold room operations, and the potential of these technologies to reshape agricultural practices for smallholder farmers.

Takeaways

• 🌟 The webinar is part of a three-part series focusing on unlocking cold storage financing and agriculture, particularly the role of cold rooms as a service in developing countries.
• 📈 Scaling access to cold storage in agriculture is crucial for increasing agricultural incomes, enhancing food security, and reducing food loss, which is a significant issue affecting millions of farmers globally.
• 💡 Decentralized cold rooms powered by solar energy and operated on a pay-per-use model are being established by entrepreneurs to extend the shelf life of produce and tap into market opportunities.
• 💼 The main challenge for these cold room businesses is securing additional financing to support and expand their operations, which is essential for their impact on local agriculture and food systems.
• 🌍 GET Invest, a European program, is highlighted for its role in mobilizing investments in renewable energy in developing countries, including advisory support to make clean energy companies bankable and link them to financiers.
• 🔢 Data is critical for cold storage as a service businesses to demonstrate successful operations and attract investment, emphasizing the importance of robust data systems for trustworthiness.
• 🤝 Non-financial support such as regulatory advocacy, certification support, and business model refinement are needed for new companies and startups in the cooling sector.
• 💰 Financial support mechanisms like minimum revenue guarantees, microcredit, and securitization are discussed as impactful for the sector, alongside the importance of understanding revenue models and uncertainties.
• 📚 ACO Fresh's story is shared as an example of a company combating post-harvest losses and enhancing food security using a cooling as a service model, demonstrating the impact of such initiatives on local communities.
• 🚀 The presentation by ACO Fresh also outlines the company's operational model, financial journey, and plans for scaling, including the use of digital tools for managing systems and providing real-time data to investors.
• 🌐 The importance of digital tools in improving creditworthiness and showcasing the social and environmental impacts of cold storage solutions is emphasized, with examples of how data can be upcycled for various benefits.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the webinar series that Emma Wink is moderating?

The webinar series is focused on unlocking cold storage financing and agriculture, particularly looking at cold rooms as a service and how to scale access to them for farmers in developing countries.

Why is scaling access to cold storage important for farmers in developing countries?

Scaling access to cold storage is crucial as it helps to increase agricultural incomes, improve food security, and reduce significant food loss, which is a climate, health, food security, and social justice issue.

What is the role of GET.invest as described by Divia Balakrishnan?

GET.invest is a European program that mobilizes investments in decentralized renewable energy, particularly in developing countries. They provide advisory support to help clean energy companies become bankable and find financing by linking them to the right financiers.

How does GET.invest support its clients financially?

GET.invest does not finance projects or companies directly but offers free advisory services, including capacity building, organizing webinars, and providing market information such as a funding database and market research.

What are some of the key challenges faced by companies providing cold rooms as a service, according to Zach Bloomfield?

Some key challenges include the need for better data capture and utilization, regulatory advocacy, certification support, refining business models, and integrating financial models that are appropriate for startups in the cooling as a service niche.

What is ACO fresh, and what is its mission?

ACO fresh is an innovative organization dedicated to revolutionizing cold storage solutions for agriculture. Its mission is to combat post-harvest losses and enhance food security in vulnerable communities.

How does ACO fresh operate its cooling as a service model?

ACO fresh operates a pay-as-you-go module where farmers rent storage spaces and pay a daily fee without needing to purchase the technology upfront or have technical expertise.

What are some of the financing strategies that ACO fresh has utilized?

ACO fresh has utilized seed funding, awards and donations, and is currently exploring carbon credits, depth financing, and equity investment as part of its financing strategies.

What is the significance of the 'Your Virtual Cold Chain Assistant' project presented by Roberta?

The 'Your Virtual Cold Chain Assistant' project aims to support smallholder farmers in accessing sustainable cooling solutions to reduce post-harvest losses and improve livelihoods through cooling as a service, digitalization, and capacity building.

How does the 'Cultivate' app contribute to the operations of cold rooms?

The 'Cultivate' app serves as a digital inventory management system for cooling companies to monitor cold room operations, register check-in and check-out digitally, and provide information to farmers about market prices and the remaining shelf life of their produce.

What are some of the data challenges faced by the 'Your Virtual Cold Chain Assistant' project?

The project faces challenges in ensuring high-quality data, especially from survey responses, and in unifying different methodologies for impact assessment among the various cooling companies involved.

How does the impact dashboard being developed as part of the 'Cultivate' app aim to benefit cooling companies?

The impact dashboard is designed to help cooling companies showcase their performance, monitor utilization patterns, post-harvest loss evolution, revenues, and environmental impact, potentially helping them unlock investment and financing.