Mekong Capital invests $5 mln in fertilizer company

Mekong Enterprise Fund IV (MEF IV) signed an agreement to invest $5 million in HUSK, a pioneering biochar and biofertilizer company committed to regenerative agriculture practices in Southeast Asia, in Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday.

The investment exemplifies MEF IV's dedication to generating both financial returns and meaningful social and environmental impacts across the region.

Founded in 2017 by female entrepreneurs Heloise Buckland and Carol Rius in Cambodia, and joined by Richard Kendall in 2019, HUSK has rapidly emerged as a leader in the agricultural sector.

Leveraging innovative technology, HUSK produces biochar, carbon-based fertilizers, and crop protection products designed to address the challenges faced by farmers, including the yield gap, pests, diseases, and poor soil and nutrient management, all exacerbated by climate change.

In Vietnam, HUSK strategically markets its products in the midland plains for vegetables and coffee, and the Mekong Delta region for rice cultivation. The company aims to help meet the increasing demand for organic fertilizers in Vietnam, in line with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s goals to raise the proportion of organic products registered to 25% by 2025.

HUSK also has ambitious plans to put Vietnam in a leadership position in decarbonising key value chains, such as coffee and rice, by building soil, sinking carbon, and reducing the use of synthetic fertilizers.

"Our mission is to accelerate the transition to regenerative agriculture and to achieve this we have developed a unique set of technologies and products that build soil, sink carbon and build climate resilience. Farmers choose our products as they are better value for money than conventional inputs and support long-term soil health, crop protection, and improved water and nutrient efficiency," said said Heloise Buckland, CEO and co-founder of HUSK.

"The commitment of Mekong Capital to support our vision could not have come at a more critical time - where the need for viable, scalable, and impactful solutions to runaway soil degradation is at its most urgent,” she added.

According to Buckland, the announcement is both transformative to the continuing rapid development of HUSK as a leading producer of organic fertilizers, and also to the uptake of biochar as a key foundation to the acceleration of regenerative agricultural practices across Southeast Asia. The HUSK team is looking forward to working together with Mekong on the next exciting stage of our journey, she said.

Established in 2001, Mekong Capital has the most extensive private equity track record in Vietnam. Some of their well-known investments are Mobile World, Phu Nhuan Jewelry (PNJ), ICP, Golden Gate, Vietnam Australia International School (VAS), Masan Consumer, Traphaco, and F88.

Mekong Capital’s fifth fund, MEF IV, is a private equity fund with a size of $246 million that will continue Mekong Capital’s successful strategy of investing in growth-equity investments in Vietnamese companies and exclusively in proven consumer-driven sectors that benefit from the growth in Vietnamese consumer demand and the adoption of modern business practices.

The fund will focus particularly on retail, education, restaurants, consumer services, FMCG, and healthcare, including Entobel, Marou, Mutosi, HSV Group, LiveSpo, Rever, Gene Solutions, and F88. MEF IV applies Mekong Capital’s Transformational Private Equity approach and the Vision Driven Investing framework with the intention to fulfil its commitment for each investee company to achieve its vision.