Learn about the five innovative startups selected to take part in the Forest & Climate Challenges Program – Carbon Edition, which have the potential to solve challenges in the forest carbon ecosystem.
After receiving 239 entries in a nationwide contest to join the Forest & Climate Challenges Program – Carbon Edition, Fundo Vale and impact accelerator Quintessa selected five innovative businesses with the potential to solve challenges in the forest carbon ecosystem.
The chosen enterprises will go through a six-month acceleration program carried out by Quintessa, involving individual advice and mentoring to support strategic challenges in each business, as well as connections with Fundo Vale, Vale and the initiative’s strategic partners.
The accelerator opted for a customized acceleration methodology to ensure that the program can assertively meet the needs of all the businesses, which may be at different stages of maturity.
“Large companies have been demanding a variety of carbon solutions, but there are still few mature solutions to meet this demand. Our program with Fundo Vale is essential to develop this segment and increase the supply of high-quality solutions,” says Anna de Souza Aranha, managing partner of Quintessa.
PITCH DAY
In March, the Forest & Climate Challenges Program – Carbon Edition held its Pitch Day, giving 11 initiatives the opportunity to present their business prototypes to a panel of judges.
Companies such as Vale, Cubo Itaú, EcoSecurities, the Ekos Brasil Institute, Irani, KPTL and Suzano Ventures were involved in choosing the five startups and they will also support the acceleration stage. “In this edition, we will seek, together with Quintessa, to encourage and facilitate connections between startups and these companies, so that product and market validations and potential new businesses or partnerships can emerge,” says Lucas Ferreira of Fundo Vale’s Innovation Area.
SELECTED BUSINESSES
The idea was to identify scalable businesses whose solutions are directly benefiting the carbon market, from the origination of carbon credits to the monitoring and financing of projects.
The following startups were selected:
· Sintropica Capital Natural: This pioneer in issuing Green Rural Credit Certificates in Brazil creates financial products for habitat restoration and conservation, focusing on rural producers, cooperatives and input suppliers.
· Umgrauemeio: This startup offers a comprehensive solution for fire management, based on integrated action with a focus on forecasting, detection and management of land resources in different biomes to fight fires.
· Quanticum Inteligência em Solos: Technology that maps agricultural and environmental potential based on natural nanoparticles in the soil.
· Carbon Fair: Generates, sells and registers carbon credits, working with cooperatives and training local producers.
· Inspectral: Works with geospatial intelligence, using satellites and drones to analyze data, focusing on water, forestry and agriculture.
FOREST & CLIMATE CHALLENGES PROGRAM AND VALE’S 2030 FOREST GOAL
The acceleration program intends to leverage the growth of solutions with high potential for the agroforestry carbon ecosystem and connect them to the market. This work will help Vale achieve its commitment to restore and protect 500,000 hectares of forest in Brazil by 2030.
Today, the mining company already protects approximately 1 million hectares in the countries where it operates, including 800,000 in the Amazon. Fundo Vale is responsible for coordinating and implementing the goal.
“While investing in new impact businesses for Vale’s 2030 Forest Goal, we realized that one of the main challenges in reaching a large scale is to unlock systemic bottlenecks for the chain as a whole. Moreover, we view Brazil as a potential global leader in this area, so accelerating businesses that can scale up this forestry economy is the main objective of the program. Above all, we are working in partnership with organizations that are involved and engaged in this field, to join efforts and help strengthen the forest carbon market in Brazil,” explains Gustavo Luz, Fundo Vale’s manager.
The Forest & Climate Challenges Program – Carbon Edition is committed to contributing to Fundo Vale’s 2025 results, in these areas:
· “Structured social and environmental impact businesses, generating a financial return and with the potential to gain scale.”
· “Innovative social and environmental impact solutions contributing to Vale’s sustainability commitments regarding the forest and climate change agendas.”
“By accelerating the five selected businesses and involving six companies in the carbon ecosystem, we seek to leverage these results and hope that in the future we will have even more startups and large-scale solutions to be implemented in forest carbon credit and impact projects,” says Lucas Ferreira of Fundo Vale’s Innovation Area.