Mombak busca US$ 150 milhões para ampliar aposta na Amazônia

Mombak, a startup specialized in carbon credits from the restoration of degraded areas in the Amazon, announced the closure of its second fund, seeking US$ 150 million. The company did not disclose the investor's name or the amount raised. The new fund recently secured a R$ 200 million (approximately US$ 40 million) credit line from the BNDES, with an annual interest rate of 2.3%.

This second vehicle comes five years after the creation of Mombak, founded by Peter Fernandez, former CEO of 99, and Gabriel Haddad Silva, former CFO of Nubank, and incorporates the lessons learned from the first operation. The first fund raised US$ 120 million, financed the restoration of 27 thousand hectares in Pará, and planted nearly 15 million trees of over 100 species.

Now, the company aims to scale up and increase productivity per hectare and the predictability of generating credits. CEO Gabriel Haddad Silva stated that the company has structured the operation, secured partnerships with 15 farms, signed offtakes with the largest buyers, and is now delivering credits. In July, Mombak made its first issuance of carbon credits from reforestation projects under the Isometric protocol, a British certifier, and delivered credits to buyers like Google, McKinsey, Bain, McLaren Racing, and Union Square Ventures.

Deliveries occurred over two years ahead of the contract deadlines. Mombak expects to issue around 80 thousand tons of credits by 2026, totaling over 100 thousand tons annually. Building this track record also changed the relationship with investors. While the first fund needed to convince the market of a thesis still little tested, the current data on execution can be presented.

The credit capture strategy has now become part of the structuring of new projects. Salesforce recently signed a contract with Mombak to purchase carbon credits antecedently, with the first tranche of 2 thousand credits already delivered. The agreement expands the list of technology giants that buy credits from the startup, which already includes Google and Microsoft.

"The carbon market is evolving. On one hand, there are more buyers and projects, on the other, investors are adopting a more cautious stance," said Gabriel. "That's why the carbon market is going in the same direction as renewable energy. Before building, before financing, there has to be a buyer and a sale contract." So far, Mombak has captured over US$ 250 million from institutions such as the World Bank, BNDES, DFC, Rockefeller Foundation, CPP Investments, Bain Capital, and AXA (now BNP Paribas).

The experience from the first fund also led to changes in the restoration model. One key conclusion was that natural regeneration, while common in the Amazon, does not offer the necessary predictability for the company's business model. Mombak now prioritizes the planting of native species in a methodology closer to commercial forests of the paper industry, but adapted to the use of native species.

The team includes ex-employees from Suzano. The company is also investing more in species selection, genetic improvement, seed and cutting origin, management practices, and chosen properties. More than the impact on the number of hectares, the company sees an evolution in carbon capture per hectare. Gabriel stated, "Each hectare today is much more productive than the hectare we acquired during the first fund."

Another lesson relates to combating forest fires, which has become the largest cost item for the company — an item that was underestimated at the beginning of the operation. Like in the first fund, the resources captured by investors will be used mainly for land acquisition or rural partnerships, while the BNDES line will be dedicated to executing restoration projects.

The BNDES funding is part of a broader strategy to transform the restoration of native forests into an economic sector. Since 2023, the bank has structured a portfolio specifically for the segment, with almost 20 credit contracts with 17 business groups, in projects in the Amazon, Cerrado, and Atlantic Forest. This amounts to R$ 2.9 billion in credit approvals, all with resources from the Climate Fund.

For the bank, the challenge is adapting financing to the forest lifecycle, which is much longer than that of traditional sectors. "When you work with native forests, there is a much longer maturation period, with cycles of 15, 20, 30 years," said Nabil Kadri, BNDES' Environment Superintendent. Ultimately, the challenge is reconciling two clocks: the one of capital, which demands return and scaling, and the one of the forest, which needs time to grow.