HeavyFinance, the agricultural loan marketplace, has attracted nearly 8,000 investors thanks to growth from Germany, France and Spain.
In a newsletter to investors, the Lithuania-headquartered firm also revealed that its investors have put nearly €1m (£870,000) into green loans, “the product allowing you to tap into a fast-growing carbon credit market”.
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“We are happy to see that the growth is heavily accelerated by new German, French, and Spanish investors who see agriculture as a great sector to diversify their portfolios and make some real positive impact in fighting climate change,” HeavyFinance said.
The platform highlighted a particular project available on its platform – a loan for a family business managing 112.65 hectares of arable land. It said that the farmer wants to implement his expansion ideas as soon as possible, so it is offering investors a two per cent bonus.
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“With traditional financial institutions shying away from financing small and medium enterprises, the vast majority of total 10 million European farmers have limited access to external financing,” said Laimonas Noreika, founder of HeavyFinance, in a recent interview with European Business Magazine.
“However, agriculture, being a sector of strategic importance and with very few defaults, can be an interesting addition to any investment portfolio. Furthermore, investments in this sector can transform it from being climate negative to climate positive.”
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HeavyFinance has already facilitated €34m in agricultural loans with the average loan amount being €30,000, Noreika said.
