The Restoration Seed Capital Facility (RSCF) is pleased to announce that its partner, Impact Earth and ABF, have closed a BRL 20 million (USD 3.8 million equivalent) investment in Mahta, a Brazilian foodtech start-up that develops clean-label and nutrient-rich products based on Amazonian biodiversity. The company currently offers a portfolio of five products: two superfoods, one powdered Brazil nut milk, and two supercoffees. This transaction marks the largest investment the company has received to date.
The investment is structured as a hybrid model that combines below-market-rate debt with profit-sharing. The financing will support Mahta in expanding its research team, marketing its products in retail, and strengthening its supplier network.
RSCF supported this transaction by providing a reimbursable grant to IE, helping to enhance environmental and social standards as well as impact analysis. Key elements include improving Mahta’s ingredient traceability system and fostering fair and transparent relationships with local providers – measures designed to ensure more sustainable and efficient operations.
Mahta’s model is designed to connect human health, social well-being, and environmental value creation by sourcing ingredients from standing forest and promoting innovation through science and technology. The company’s growth is expected to increase direct and indirect job creation and strengthen at least ten different value-chains. In addition, the company’s sourcing strategy – focused exclusively on agroforestry production and sustainable extraction in the Brazilian Amazon – has the potential to significantly reduce carbon emissions compared to conventional models. As one of the outcomes of the collaboration with RSCF, Mahta is establishing a dedicated impact area to strengthen its measurement and management practices. This step will reinforce the company’s ability to integrate impact into decision-making and product innovation.
The company focuses on innovating at the product level, rethinking how Amazonian ingredients are used and processed to create nutritious and sustainable products that generate greater value from biodiversity.
This investment highlights the power of blended finance to scale local enterprises that deliver measurable environmental benefits while strengthening the livelihoods of Amazonian communities.
If you are a fund manager or investment adviser seeking to enhance your environmental and social impacts, learn how RSCF can support your fund or project development here.
