Impact Makers: Gilberto Ribeiro

14 November 2024 | By Climate Champions

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NAME

Gilberto Ribeiro de Oliveira Filho (“Giba”)

TITLE

Partner and CIO, VOX Capital

LOCATION

São Paulo, Brazil

ABOUT

Giba is a partner and CIO at VOX Capital, focusing on innovative climate finance solutions in sectors critical to Brazil’s future: energy and land use, including food and agriculture. His efforts have led to the mobilization of substantial funds aimed at tackling environmental challenges like deforestation, land mismanagement, and greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and forestry.

MOTIVATION

Giba started its career in impact investments after being part of the team that implemented the first greenfield coal mine operation of Vale in Mozambique. Up until that point he was led to believe that career and work life should be planned according to your material ambitions, and any core values and beliefs should be exercised in your free time through volunteering and social engagement. It was during his time in the village of Moatize that he was able to see the negative impact of his work on water stress, biodiversity loss and social issues. After quitting Vale, Giba decided to unite its personal purpose with his career and joined the recently founded team of VOX Capital where he has devoted the past 13 years to advance the agenda of impact investments in Brazil.

IMPACTS

Despite being one of the world’s most biodiverse regions, Brazil has struggled with widespread land degradation and high greenhouse gas emissions from land use and agriculture. Over 80 million hectares of land are degraded, and emissions from these sectors contribute substantially to the country’s environmental footprint. Additionally, access to climate finance has been limited, making it challenging to implement large-scale environmental solutions.

VOX Capital funds have backed over 65 companies throughout the years, all dedicated to social and environmental causes including:

Copel Ventures I, with R$150 million seed stage Venture Capital fund dedicated to energy transition, backing tech companies who are advancing the adoption of renewables and energy efficiency in Brazil such as Nextron (Solar DG) and Move (EV charging management);
Tech for Good Growth I, with R$190 million early stage Venture Capital cross-sector fund with companies such as Octa (auto industry circularity), Seedz (agtech focused on improving farm management practices and Nude (foodtech focused on alternative proteins); and
BB ESG Impact I, with R$80 million seed stage Venture Capial fund dedicated to financial inclusion, low carbon agriculture and government efficiency, with companies such as Traive (unlocking credit to farmers) and Genica (replacing chemicals with bio inputs)

CHALLENGES

High global interest rates and the volatility of the Brazilian currency complicate funding, according to Gilberto, while the lack of local capital market mobilization towards climate-related topics is another significant hurdle. Strategies to overcome these include leveraging corporate balance sheets and creating financial instruments that align various financial interests.

GOALS

In the next few years Giba intends to mobilize R$1 billion in funding for Nature-based Solutions (NbS). With challenges related to degraded pasture land, deforestation and land use transition, Giba says there is need to design new financial instruments tailored to the needs of Nature, using blended finance to enhance the risk/returns balance in order to finance the transition towards low carbon agriculture in Brazil.

GILBERTO’S ADVICE

“Climate change is a systemic problem that requires a multidisciplinary approach. If you want to engage in climate finance you must be able to navigate and connect with diverse stakeholders – scientists, academia, asset owners, governments, civil society, and entrepreneurs. Invest time in building these networks and focus on relationships with those who share your values and purpose.”

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Support Gilberto’s mission by following VOX Capital work. If you want to contribute feel free to contact us: