HeavyFinance is a Lithuanian environmental technology investment company that operates a marketplace for the agricultural industry.[1] The company facilitates investments in debt capital for small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises to switch and expand regenerative agriculture practices such as no-till farming, mixed crop rotation, cover cropping, and the application of compost and manure.
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial technologies, climate technologies |
| Founded | 2020 |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Laimonas Noreika, Darius Verseckas, Andrius Liukaitis |
| AUM | €60 million (2024) |
Number of employees | 65 (2024) |
| Website | heavyfinance |
The company is registered as a crowdfunding service provider with the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).[2][3]
History
editIn 2020, Laimonas Noreika, Darius Verseckas and Andrius Liukaitis co-founded HeavyFinance in Vilnius, Lithuania registering the company's offering with the Central Bank of Lithuania.[4]
In 2021, HeavyFinance raised US$1 million in a round led by a Polish venture capital firm bValue[5] to fill the funding gap for small and medium-sized European farms[6] of €19.8 to €46.6 billion, as identified by the European Commission together with the European Investment Bank.[7]
Over the initial three-year period, the company facilitated the issuance of over €27 million through approximately 1,000 loans.[8] In 2022, lending activities experienced growth, with the total number of loans disbursed increasing from 427 in the previous year (valued at €13.5 million) to 651 loans, totaling €16.2 million.[9]
In 2023, HeavyFinance raised €3 million in a seed funding round led by Practica Capital and launched green loans to accelerate the adoption of regenerative agriculture.[10][11][12][13] A joint venture with Scottish firm Agricarbon was started.[14]
As of May 2024[update], HeavyFinance had provided assistance to more than 2,000 farm owners, with an average loan size of €31,000.[15]
Services
editHeavyFinance enables small and medium-sized farms to create agriculture business loans between €10,000 and €200,000. Investors are able to browse the loan listings on the HeavyFinance website and select loans that they want to invest in based on balance sheet, income statement and other information supplied about the farm, amount of loan, collateralized debt obligation, loan rating, and loan purpose.
HeavyFinance offers fixed interest green loans for carbon farming.[16] Investors in green loans make money from nature-based carbon credits generated on the farm by applying regenerative agriculture.[17][18][19]
The company also provides both collateralized and uncollateralized agricultural business loans. Investors in agriculture business loans earn interest on these loans.
Locations
editAs of 2024[update], the company has offices in Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal[20][21] and Ukraine.[22][23]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Empowering small-scale food producers with fintech". EBRD. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
- ^ "Register of crowdfunding services providers". European Securities and Markets Authority. Retrieved 2023-12-04.
- ^ Sharma-Karia, Sonia (2023-07-28). "New pan-EU licence allows HeavyFinance to expand its platform". Alternative Credit Investor. Retrieved 2023-12-04.
- ^ "UAB HEAVY FINANCE". www.lb.lt. Retrieved 2023-12-04.
- ^ "Planting the seeds for future sustainability, Lithuania's HeavyFinance raises $1 million". Tech.eu. 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2023-12-04.
- ^ Cumming, Alice (2023-08-03). "HeavyFinance's climate tech investment success: financing €40m in agricultural loans - Business Leader News". Business Leader. Retrieved 2023-12-04.
- ^ "fi-compass Study on financial needs in the agriculture and agri-food sectors in 24 EU Member States". fi-compass. 2023-11-22. Retrieved 2023-12-04.
- ^ ""Heavy Finance" komandą papildė du nauji vadovai".
- ^ "Per "HeavyFinance" pernai finansuota paskolų už 16,2 MLN. Eur".
- ^ "Lithuania's Climate Tech HeavyFinance closes €3m seed round". IBS Intelligence. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
- ^ Release, Press (2023-03-23). "Climate Tech specialist HeavyFinance closes 3 million Euro seed funding round". Disruption Banking. Retrieved 2023-12-04.
- ^ jhaxell (2023-04-19). "HeavyFinance launches Green Loans to enter carbon credit market". FinTech Global. Retrieved 2023-12-04.
- ^ "HeavyFinance Launches Green Loans to Generate Carbon Credits in European Agricultural Land - Fintech Finance". ffnews.com. Retrieved 2023-12-04.
- ^ "Dundee firm Agricarbon to partner with HeavyFinance in major european climate project". Scottish Financial News. 2023-06-07. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
- ^ "Statistics". HeavyFinance. Retrieved 2023-12-04.
- ^ "HeavyFinance launches Green Loans to generate carbon credits in European agricultural land". Finextra Research. 2023-04-19. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
- ^ Frances (2023-08-22). "Major investor coalition calls on G20 to revise agricultural subsidies". Food Voices. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
- ^ "HeavyFinance generates 250,000 carbon credits to combat European CO2 in 2024". FinTech Global. 2023-08-18. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
- ^ "Vinted co-founder invests €1M in HeavyFinance to boost green agriculture | Silicon Canals". 2023-10-09. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
- ^ "HeavyFinance Review – Connecting Farmers with Investors | CrowdSearch". crowdsearch.eu. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
- ^ "HeavyFinance to offer agri-finance in Bulgaria to tackle climate change". seenews.com. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
- ^ Geschwindt, Siôn (2024-05-02). "This tech investor will pay Ukrainian farmers to trap carbon in soil". TNW | Sustainability. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
- ^ "Lithuanian startup HeavyFinance signs up 300,000 hectares in Ukraine for regenerative farming push". Tech.eu. 2024-05-03. Retrieved 2024-05-10.