We are delighted to announce that Björn Aarts will join Rabo Investments as ESG Director effective 1st October 2022. At Rabo Investments, we are truly committed to driving positive ESG change and decided to appoint a dedicated Global ESG function, led by Björn Aarts. Rabo Investments is a strategic investor, and alongside our deep and broad network and knowledge, we are convinced we can be of added value to our portfolio partners to drive their ESG efforts towards a net zero environment. Björn has over 20 years of work experience, and most recently was Sustainable business developer at Rabobank, in which his main focus is to support both clients and colleagues on sustainability related matters, such as structuring KPI’s for Sustainability linked loans. Alongside his professional experience in sustainability and circularity, Björn gained expertise in this field during his MBA study at Nyenrode Business University and postgraduate at Cambridge Institute for Sustainable Leadership. We are excited for Björn to strengthen our team at Rabo Investments!

Rabobank invests in Esro Food Group through its investment arm Rabo Investments. By taking a minority stake in Esro Food Group, Rabo Investments will enable the company to further accelerate the international roll-out of its distribution network and expansion of operations. We look forward to support the company in its next phase of growth in the coming years, together with management and current shareholders.

Rabo Investments completed the acquisition of Selo Food Group. The acquisition follows the carve-out of Selo Food Group from its ultimate parent company Omori - a Japanese producer of flowpack machines. Current management will continue in its position and will also invest in the company alongside Rabo Investments.

Rabobank Group will become a co-shareholder in Koppert Cress Group through its investment department Rabo Investments (RI). By taking a minority interest in Koppert Cress, a course will be set towards further joint sustainable international growth.

Paine Schwartz Partners, a global leader in sustainable food chain investing, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with respect to a new strategic investment by Paine Schwartz Food Chain Fund V (“Fund V”) in Hendrix Genetics (the “Company”), a leading multi-species animal genetics and technology company.

RFAIF invested alongside ADM Capital, iAngels, FirstTime, J-Ventures, UpWest, Entrée Capital, Good Company, the Arison Group and Gaingels. BeeHero maximizes crop yields through precision pollination, combining sophisticated machine learning algorithms with low-cost sensors to stimulate full output potential during peak pollination cycles. By tracking and optimizing pollination in real-time, BeeHero ensures hyper-efficient pollinators that can increase crop yields by 30% on average. BeeHero’s platform enables commercial growers to optimize crop-yield for 70% of major commercial crops. Based in California and operating globally, BeeHero manages the largest database of bees & pollination. The company has traction working with farmers and industry groups including the largest association of almond growers in the world. BeeHero has been growing fast since its debut and seed round last year, and $19 million in new funding means it can scale beyond its initial markets and find more uses for its one-of-a-kind collection of data collected from thousands of active honeybee hives.

Rabobank Group becomes a co-shareholder in Havatec B.V. through its investment company Rabo Investments (RI). This investment marks the next phase for the innovative manufacturing company from Nieuw-Vennep. With this investment Havatec can enhance the international expansion and development of advanced technological solutions for the floriculture and horticulture sectors.

Aromyx is a data-driven start-up that developed an objective means of measuring human perception of taste and smell. Aromyx' technology allows new, healthier and more sustainable products to reach the market faster by driving more efficient and targeted product development decision making. Proceeds from the Series A investment round, led by Rabobank and Sozo Ventures, will be used to further scale commercial efforts and production

The Goes-based company Bakon Food Equipment designs and manufactuers bakery equipment for industrial confectionary, retail and traditional bakeries. Since Rabo Investments became shareholder in 2016, Bakon Food Equipment has developed into a leading niche player serving a global client base. The acquisition by LINXIS Group is focused on further boosting the market potential of Bakon Food Equipment by leveraging the infrastructure of the wider group

Rabo Food & Agri Innovation Fund supports portfolio company Vence with follow-on investment in $12m Series A round” Vence offers virtual fencing solutions to beef cattle ranchers. By enabling remote animal management and automated herding through its proprietary wearable device and user platform, Vence allows farmers to reduce capex-investments and adopt rotational grazing. Proceeds from the equity raise will be directed to further scaling the company and driving continued product development of new value-added functionality