I have to admit something: I have my favorite founders. These are the ones who believe truly in their missions, have a great impact on our planet, and constantly go above and beyond. Lucky me, I stumbled on two of them this week at SOCAP, San Francisco’s impact investing conference. And they have great updates for us.
Nigel Sharp, CEO and founder of Aquagga
According to the EPA, Aquagga has the best technology to destroy PFAS, a harmful eternal chemical present in the blood of 97% of Americans and in 45% of the country’s tap water. Exposure to PFAS may lead to cancer, fragile immune systems, and decreased infant birth weights.
Aquagga successfully raised $495,056 in its round closed last April and KingsCrowd Capital invested in the company. Nigel was selected as a SOCAP entrepreneur this year, giving him the opportunity to pitch in front of investors and start raising the company’s new round of funding. He also told me that Aquagga has closed $4.5 million worth of contracts for 2024, promising a strong revenue increase. The company also recently conducted its first field deployment of its Steed PFAS destruction unit at Fairbanks International Airport.
Cathy Key, President of World Tree
World Tree raises yearly through crowdfunding platforms to plant new batches of Empress trees in Nothern and Central America. After 10 years, the company harvests the trees, gives 25% of the revenues to investors, 50% to farmers, and keeps 25%. Investors can expect up to 4x returns based on the trees’ survival rate while offsetting their carbon footprint. The company just launched a new round on Wefunder.
But the company also launched a new line of projects called Signature Empress Farms. Institutional investors like Provenance Capital Group already invest up to $20 million per project. The projects will combine commercial tree plantations, permanent reforestation, carbon sequestration, soil regeneration, biodiversity conservation, and new job creations in Central America. The projects will generate between 10%-23% IRR thanks to the sale of carbon credits, lumber, and food products.
