By Virginia Barreiro

Earlier this month, six small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) were selected as winners in the First Annual New Ventures India and New Ventures Indonesia Investor Forums. The New Ventures Investor Forums are invaluable in connecting talented entrepreneurs running businesses with investors that are increasingly flocking to the high returns of emerging markets.

The New Ventures program of the World Resources Institute hosted the events in conjunction with local partners CII-Godrej Green Business Center and Yayasan Bina Usaha Lingkungan (YBUL).

The forums brought together a total of 350 investors, entrepreneurs, business leaders and policymakers to showcase some of the countries’ most promising sustainable businesses and select three as winners in each country. From an initial field of 100 businesses, twenty finalists were judged by panels of experts based on the strength of their business plans and past records of performance as well as their impact on sustainability challenges.

All of the companies offer unique solutions to global environmental challenges as well as a competitive edge in some of the region’s fastest growing sectors.

This year’s winners in Indonesia are:

• Bening Big Tree Farms, a pioneer in efficient, sustainable agriculture and a supplier for such supermarket giants as Whole Foods and Central Markets.
• Dyna Energy, which provides cost-effective, renewable energy systems for SMEs.
• Komposindo, a company that creates high-value, organic compost from recycled municipal waste.

From India jurors selected:

• ABT Bioproducts, offering a full line of products for organic farming needs including soil fertility enhancers, bio-pesticides and plant growth promoters.
• Natura Fibretech, which creates sustainable materials that serve as an innovative timber substitute for use in the construction sector.
• Sumaya HMX, which has successfully tapped into India’s $1.8 billion thermal comfort market with energy efficient climate control systems that have earned the company an 86 percent compounded annual growth rate since 2001.

With support from the unique New Ventures process these enterprises are finding the financing they need to scale up their business models and reach broader markets. While six entrepreneurs were judged to have the highest potential in these forums, all twenty finalists will join the New Ventures portfolio and receive the benefits of its extensive business development services, which have helped 130 enterprises attain a total of more than $18 million in investment.

Previous finalists, such as Vehizero in Mexico, Solar Trade Corp. in Costa Rica and Rainforest Expeditions in Peru have received significant investment as a result of the process.

"WRI’s New Ventures program has identified several attractive deals achieving triple bottom-line impacts for our fund, and we will be looking closely at the businesses they identify in India," said Jennifer Morris, Verde Ventures fund manager at Conservation International. "Also, the New Ventures program adds value for us because the mentoring program raises these businesses to the level where they are better prepared to interact with us and other investors." Triple bottom-line impacts are those outcomes that generate profits while contributing to the well-being of people and the environment.

The New Ventures Forums featured a number of panels on key financial sector issues such as this one, discussing investment trends in sustainability

The New Ventures Forums featured a number of panels on key financial
sector issues such as this one, discussing investment trends in sustainability.

Beyond the businesses themselves, the forums in India and Indonesia featured a range of speakers including Mr. T.C. Venkat Subramanian, Chairman & Managing Director, EXIM Bank and Emil Salim, an economist and former minister of the environment in Indonesia. The speakers highlighted the increasing levels of investment in green sectors of emerging economies as well as the growing importance of small businesses that form the economic backbone of countries like India and Indonesia.

Some of the other finalists, from a range of sectors that take advantage of high-growth markets both in-country and internationally, included: Gram Mooligai, a manufacturer of herbal remedies that taps into India’s vast rural population which relies primarily on traditional methods as primary healthcare; Yussagrindo, which produces sustainably harvested wood from teak trees, one of the most valuable varieties in the world, in a country with one of the highest rates of deforestation; and CleanStar Energy, which produces cleaner substitute fuels for diesel and coal from renewable plant sources.

The next New Ventures Investor Forums will highlight companies in Brazil. Those winners will be presented on December 14 in São Paulo.

Virginia Barreiro
Director, WRI's New Ventures Program
November 9, 2006