Regenerative agriculture platform provider Klim, based in Berlin, has raised its Series A funding, amounting to $22 million. The funds will see the company scale global sustainable agriculture solutions. The funding round is led by BNP Paribas and includes contributions from Earthshot Ventures, Rabobank, Agfunder, Norinchukin Bank, Achmea Innovation Fund, Ananda Impact Ventures, and Elevator Ventures. Such funding is indeed important in supporting Klim’s moves to scale the business on an international scale while continually improving its offerings to help farmers transition into regenerative practices.
Founded in 2020, Klim is focusing its efforts on the agriculture sector, which has the highest environmental footprint. The production of food and beverages is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for half of the climate impact of food and beverages, of which approximately one-third of global emissions. In recent years, regenerative agriculture has been developed as an essential component of the solution, highlighting restoring biodiversity and health in ecosystems and soils while reducing emissions. In that sense, practices like improved soil fertility, higher watershed management, and reduced emissions are likely to reduce agriculture’s negative environmental footprint while maintaining the gains from supporting farmers’ livelihoods.
Klim’s digital platform supports farmers in transitioning to regenerative practice through access to tools and guidance-sustainability assessments, advice on how to minimize carbon footprint, etc. The company currently assists more than 3,500 farmers who control an area of up to 700,000 hectares-5% of Germany’s farmland-through its platform. This enterprise contributes to resilient supply chains as well as better quality food by supporting such farmers in improving soil health and reducing their emissions.
Beyond working with global market leaders, such as Nestlé, Kaufland, and Aryzta, to help them reduce Scope 3 emissions – indirect emissions through the supply chain – Klim also allows companies to access carbon credits and support directly with their agricultural partners.
In particular, Klim CEO Robert Gerlach said the food system transformation at this point is already “monumental,” considering the adoption of regenerative agriculture. While seeing the importance of creating solutions pertinent to farmers, Gerlach had particularly stressed how Klim’s scalable platform, partnership with food companies, and strategic alliances will really help in driving such broad-scale changes across a sector where very modest changes might make a big difference in the food system as a whole. It’s like the scale of the Green Revolution, but it’s called Klim’s acceleration toward industry-wide progress, he said.
International expansion aside, Klim is to introduce new financial services layers to enable access of the resources needed for farming as it transitions into regenerative practices. Maha Keramane, head of BNP Paribas’ Positive Impact Business Accelerator, added that such a company will align the bank’s efforts to support climate resilience and sustainable livelihoods, and her company has the potential to “reshape food supply chains around the world.”.