Nesle, France-based insect meal producer Innovafeed has raised USD 250 million (EUR 256.1 million) in Series D funding with the round led by Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), existing investors Creadev and Temasek, and new investors ADM and Cargill – both of whom have strategic partnerships with Innovafeed – as well as Future French Champions, ABC Impact, IDIA Capital Investissement, and Grow Forward.
La Caisse d’Epargne Hauts de France, Groupe Crédit Agricole, BNP Paribas, Arkéa Banque Entreprises et Institutionnels and Société Générale also contributed via EUR 38 million (USD 37.1 million) in debt financing. Nomura Greentech served as financial advisor to Innovafeed on the financing round.
This latest round of financing brings Innovafeed’s total cumulative financing to USD 450 million (EUR 461.2 million). It has also already secured commercial partnerships for volumes representing more than EUR 1 billion (USD 975.8 million) over the next 10 years.
“At a time when conservation of our natural resources and the preservation of our environment are becoming an absolute necessity, we are convinced that the insect industry is a key solution for our planet’s food-production needs. The confidence demonstrated in us by our partners through a new round of fundraising confirms this. Their support will allow us to accelerate our deployment in service of an ever healthier, natural, and sustainable food system,” Innovafeed Co-Founder and CEO Clément Ray said.
Innovafeed said it intends to use the capital to increase production capacity in France through the further expansion of its insect farm at Nesle; accelerate its international expansion, notably in the United States with the construction of a new production plant in Decatur, Illinois, in collaboration with ADM; and prepare the global rollout of its technology, including in Asia; and invest in breakthrough technology and research of the formulation of high-precision and high-performance ingredients for animals, plants and, in the future, for human food.
The company has also confirmed the appointments of Yves Amsellem as chief operating officer and Maye Walraven as General Manager for North America.
Earlier this year, Innovafeed and Cargill announced they had extended their partnership to jointly develop and market insect meal to help aquafeed customers raise more sustainable seafood with a smaller environmental impact.
Photo courtesy of Innovafeed
